It Finds You Unexpectedly
by MaeganMarie
Summary: Hermione and Draco uncover a love that neither of them knew they had. But at what price will this love cost them? Story can also be found harry potter fan fiction . com under author hailO!
1. Outbursts

The train at Platform 9 3/4 blew its last warning whistle, telling students to get on board or be left behind. After saying a final farewell to Molly and Arthur Weasley, Harry, Hermione, and Ron finally boarded the train and settled into an empty compartment. Harry glanced around before sitting down and turned to Hermione, who was already gazing out the window. He quickly glanced at Ron, who was too busy trying to open a box of Chocolate Frogs to notice anything, and leaned near Hermione and whispered in her ear.  
"I'm a little nervous about this year."  
"Why?" Hermione asked keeping her sight on some passing trees.  
"I have no idea what Voldemort might pull this year. He gave me nothing to go on last time and I've been freaking out all summer."  
Hermione turned her head towards Harry and made eye contact.  
"Have you been having dreams, visions, anything?"  
"No, but I don't want to wait around until I do."  
Hermione sighed. "Harry, I know you're worried, but we haven't even gotten to Hogwarts yet! Until something happens that will give us reason to panic, I suggest you just relax and enjoy the school year without worry. Voldemort isn't that stupid as to try something this early."  
Harry looked at Hermione and sighed.  
"Yeah, I guess you're right."  
"When am I not?" Hermione replied with a tiny grin. "Now I need to get going. There's going to be a Prefects meeting about new precautions and I just can't wait to develop new reasons to dislike Malfoy even more."  
"Isn't staring at that nasty smirk of his enough?" Ron piped in. "One day I'm going to smack it right off his face and make him wish he…"

Ron started mumbling while staring at his Chocolate Frog, still trying to get it open, and scrunched his face when it refused. Hermione laughed as she turned and walked down the small corridor to the designated meeting room. She slowly walked up to the door when it opened suddenly. She let out a tiny yelp and back away from the door a bit. Crabbe and Goyle walked out and were startled to see Hermione standing there. They each gave her a dirty look and walked past her to their own compartment.  
"Disgusting Mudblood." Goyle whispered.  
Hermione threw a look of disgust and walked into the room. She was surprised to find that there was very little light and she began to look around nervously. By the light coming from one of the windows, she saw a glint of white blonde hair.  
"Malfoy?"

Draco looked up and Hermione noticed that his cheeks were slightly tear-stained. When he saw that it was her, he just put his head back into his hands.  
"Not now, Granger." He replied.  
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. She took out her wand and put more lights in the room and sat next to the window. Not wanting to show any weakness, he quickly wiped his eyes and leaned back against his seat, wincing at the sudden change of light in the room.  
"It was dark in here for a reason, Granger."  
Hermione looked over at Draco and scoffed.  
"As nice of it was of you to make sure we couldn't see that face of yours, it would be nice if the rest of us could see what's in front of our own noses, Malfoy."  
Draco smirked. "Starting the bantering already? I would have hoped you had grown up over the summer."  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Clearly I'm getting better at it than you."  
"Clearly." He said quietly. A few moments of silence passed, and Hermione was baffled.  
"What?" She finally asked, confused that he wasn't retorting.  
"I didn't say anything if you didn't notice, or did you lose your hearing?"

Hermione blushed and returned her attention to the moving objects outside. _'Why isn't he fighting back?' _She thought to herself. _'Something about him is different.'_ Hermione couldn't help to avert her eyes in his direction once again and for the first time, she really drank in his profile. He had obviously gotten toned this summer, and she found that moving her gaze away from his arms to be a very difficult task. She moved upward, studying his facial features and making the connection of how he almost looked innocent without that damn smirk on his face. His jaw line was lightly covered with stubble here and there. His hair always seemed to be perfect, even if it was hanging in his face. Hermione quickly shook her gaze when he reached up to move some of his hair away from his eyes. _'Those eyes of his don't seem to fit.'_ She thought. She shook her head realizing that she was fawning over Malfoy. She looked at him one last time, and decided to get to the bottom of his odd behavior.

"Malfoy, what's your problem?"  
Draco snapped his attention away from the window and stared at Hermione, his eyes seemed to have glazed over with annoyance.  
"Excuse me?"  
"What's the matter with you? It's not like you to just sit there and not insult me or call me a Mudblood."  
Draco cringed slightly at the word, but he continued to hold his stare. Why was she asking him this? Did she want to fight? The more he thought, the more aggravated he became. _'I am not in the mood for this.' _He thought. Showing no signs of change, he slowly walked over to her and sat down. He could feel her eyes staring straight at him. He turned and looked her directly in the eyes; he could feel the tension coming off of her. He laughed to himself and leaned in closer, so that his mouth was next to her ear. Hermione was panicking. She could feel his breath on her neck, she wanted to move away but something stopped her.  
"Is that a problem, Granger?" he whispered.  
He heard her whimper. He smiled to himself and decided to see how this would turn out. He got closer and spoke again.  
"Is this a problem?"  
Hermione couldn't believe what was going on. She didn't want to admit to herself that Draco was starting to get to her, but she was afraid that he had already figured it out himself. _'He's playing this out.'_ She thought. _'Two can play this game…'_  
Hermione slowly turned her head towards Draco and locked eyes. She leaned towards his ear while resting her hand on his thigh. She scooted closer and was surprised to notice that Draco was holding his breath.  
"I just want to know what's bothering you, Draco." She whispered.

Draco moved away at the sound of his name. His first name. She had actually said Draco. What the hell did that mean? He was starting to panic; something was making him like Hermione more than he should. He shouldn't even like her at all! He looked away. _'Anywhere but her. Don't look at her.'_ He looked down and realized that her hand was dangerously close to something. He put his hand on hers and he immediately felt electricity run through his veins. Hermione looked up at him, obviously having the same reaction and held his hand in hers, not wanting him to let go. He felt her squeeze his hand as he moved hers away from that position. He reluctantly let go of her hand and stood up.

"Just not in an arguing sort of mood, Granger." He could barley stop the tears from falling down his face. There was too much going on in his mind to even bother to insult her. "Is that so hard for you to accept?" he finally asked, keeping his back facing her.  
"Umm, yes actually. You're not one to back down from a fight, especially against me. Are you okay?"  
Draco looked over at Hermione. Concern had flooded her face. Should he tell her? No, why bother? It's just that damn Gryffindor curiosity. Draco sighed.  
"I really don't see how that's any of your business, Granger. Just be glad that I'm saving my energy for when classes start to treat you like I should."

Hermione squinted her eyes and frowned before crossing her arms and leaning back into the seat.  
Draco straightened up and put his school robes on. He sat down and they both waited in an awkward silence for the Prefects to arrive.

*****  
"Do you think she'll be alright in there?"  
"What do you mean, Ron? It's just a Prefect meeting. She's had them before."  
"Yeah, but I don't trust Malfoy. What if he went to some Death Eater camp or something over the summer and now he's planning to get his new Dementor friends to suck the life out of her!"

Harry jumped over to Ron and started to hold him still. Ron had really begun to panic and was shaking compulsively.  
"Ron, relax. She'll be FINE! Let's take her advice for once and not worry about anything until we have reason too." Harry said letting Ron go.  
"We have five years of reason, Harry!" Ron said in a pleading voice.  
Harry gave Ron a look that said 'just-drop-it'. Silence consumed them until Ron's thought gave way.  
"I've been thinking about possibly...moving things along…with Hermione." Ron looked over to Harry. He wouldn't be able to do this without Harry's support. Harry felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. Ron and Hermione? _'I guess it couldn't harm anyone.'_ Harry thought, but as soon as he pictured them together, he felt a pang shoot through his stomach. _'Maybe it's not a good idea. Wait, what? Why am I thinking like this? I trust Ron with Hermione, right? Right?'_ Harry was lost in his thoughts.

"Harry? You still here? HELLO?!" Ron yelled.  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, I don't know if you should do it so soon. Now might not be the best time."  
Ron looked Harry over and decided that maybe he was right. It would give himself more time to think about how he would approach her. He felt sick at the thought of confronting Hermione and telling her how he felt. _'This is going to take a while.' _He thought. _'How is she going to react to that? I need to talk to her when the time is right, when she's in the right mood. Everything needs to be perfect.'_  
Harry's thoughts were running through his mind at dangerously fast speeds. Was this jealousy? No, it couldn't be. Ron was his best friend and Hermione was just like a sister to him. So why would he want to lunge at Ron's throat at the mention of him possibly dating her? Harry couldn't figure it out. _'This is going to be an interesting year.' _He thought.

*****  
"That is the stupidest idea I've ever heard, Granger! I will not agree to it!" Pansy screamed. She was not happy with the new precautions that were going to be made at Hogwarts this year.  
"That is not my problem! All Prefects are to abide by these rules whether they like it or not! It's for our own safety!"  
"I will NOT walk the halls with a bloody Gryffindor!"

Everyone was staring intently at Hermione and Pansy. Hermione had had enough. She wasn't going to let Pansy get the best of her.  
"No one is going to tell me how to do my Prefect duties. Especially not a dirty, filthy, Mud-."  
"ENOUGH!"

Everyone jumped at the sound of Draco's voice. He had been silent for most of the meeting, throwing in a few head nods every now and then when he heard his name, but he couldn't take it anymore. Pansy was pissing him off. She was arguing with Granger, and for some reason he didn't like that. At all. He finally decided to let it out when she almost called her a Mudblood. She had crossed the line.  
Pansy walked slowly over to him. She believed that she had some influence over Draco's actions, and she was confident that she could get his backup.  
"You know this is unfair, Draco." Pansy whispered. "You can't let her do this. We're Purebloods. We're Slytherins. We don't settle. We can't let this Mudblood get in our wa-."  
"ENOUGH Parkinson!" Draco had been pushed to his limit. He had had enough of her. He glared at her, staring her down, making her take a few steps back. He looked around the small compartment. Faces were staring straight at him with surprise and shock.

"Everyone," he started slowly and quietly, "will follow these rules. They will not be broken." He said coldly. "By anyone." He stared directly at Pansy. He continued to look at the rest of the Prefects.  
"This is on Dumbledore's orders. Gryffindors and Slytherins will patrol with each other, as well as Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. We cannot choose our partners. We will all have to deal…"  
"But Draco, Slytherins…"  
"WILL DO AS THEY ARE TOLD!" Draco yelled. His hands had turned into fists. He leaned near Pansy and whispered in her ear. "I have been controlling my actions since you opened that fat trap of yours. If you so much as step out of line once to bring shame upon the Slytherin House or anyone in Slytherin, Azkaban will look like a paradise compared to me. Understand?"  
She looked up at him and slowly shook her head. Draco backed away from her and turned to face the window. Hermione cleared her throat.

"Umm, well…yes. Meeting adjourned until the second Monday of classes."  
Nobody moved. They were still staring at Draco, curious about his behavior.  
"GET GONE!" he screamed.  
Everyone jumped up and ran out of the room, not waiting around to find out what he would do if they stayed. Pansy lingered at the door. "Draco…" she started. He turned and gave her a deathly glare.  
"Don't test my patience, Parkinson."  
She turned and left in a huff, obviously upset that Draco wouldn't listen to her.  
Hermione walked over to Draco. He was leaning his hand against the window. His eyes forced themselves open when he felt her hand on his shoulder, and he whirled around.

"Don't touch me, Granger." he snarled.  
Hermione only sighed.

"I don't know what's bothering you, Draco..." she said quietly. "...but I want you to know that I'm here for you. You can come talk to me when you're ready."  
"Why would I come to you? You don't care."

"Maybe I don't. But I wouldn't want to share a dorm with someone who's going to be a bigger git than usual if I know that there might be something I can do about it. Put away your damn pride for once and grow up."  
She turned around and left Draco to himself.

_'…she called me Draco.'_ He said to himself. He smiled slightly and ran a hand through his hair. _'She called me Draco…'_

*****  
The train slowed to a stop as it approached Hogsmeade Station. Hermione took a deep breath as she stepped off the train and made her way over to where Hagrid was gathering up the first years.

"Hello Hagrid." She said cheerfully.  
"'Lo 'Mione. 'Ow are you?"  
"I'm alright. Busy summer?"  
"Oi, the busiest. Dumbledore's got all these new precautions so I had to put some 'o the animals away. Fang did a good job of herding the thestrals, he did." Hagrid said with a smile. "By the way, 'Mione, Heads ride up to the castle in the first carriage. 'Nother one of 'is new rules."  
"Oh," Hermione said looking towards the carriages. "Well, alright. Tell Harry and Ron I'll see them at dinner if you see them?" she asked.  
"'O course. See you Monday, 'Mione." Hagrid said smiling.  
"Bye Hagrid."

Hermione looked for any signs of Harry or Ron before making her way over to the carriage. She climbed into the carriage and sat down. _'Maybe Draco will tell me what's bothering him. He does seem like he has changed.' _Hermione thought. _'Whatever happened must have been big. He even yelled at Pansy…well, she is rather annoying.' _She giggled to herself.

"So, do you have it?"  
Hermione looked towards the door. She heard some muffled movements and the clinking of coins.  
"This is the last time this ever happens, alright? I'm sick of covering you."  
"Yes, thanks Draco." Two voices replied.  
"Yeah, whatever."  
The door opened as Hermione heard the footsteps of the voices walked away. She continued to look at the door as Draco's head came into view. He looked at her confused face and smirked. She frowned slightly as he sat down opposite her, throwing a leather bag next to him.

"Before you say anything and blow everything out of proportion, the money was so Crabbe can buy his robes back from Zabini…again. He tends to bet things he'll need during the school year."  
Hermione sat there staring at him.  
"Oh." She said finally. "Okay."  
He smirked and just stared at her she fiddled with her robes. Her hair had calmed down and lay around her shoulders in gentle curls. Her skin was a nice tan color. He couldn't take his eyes off her. _'She has definitely grown this summer.' _He thought. Draco shook himself and quickly looked away. _'What are you doing? You're thinking about Granger. Of all people!' _He looked over at her again and his eyes softened. _'She's just so…'_  
"Beautiful."  
Hermione turned to Draco. "What?"  
"Uh, umm, nothing." Draco said blushing a little. _'Good job, Malfoy. Think out loud some more.'_  
"No, you said beautiful. What's beautiful? Something I'm missing?" Hermione asked.  
Draco looked around the carriage. _'Think, Draco, think. Think of something quick.'_  
"Well, uh, there was a bird…just outside the carriage. Yeah, you just happened to miss it. Still lacking in the brain department are we, Granger?" Draco said, pulling his smirk back onto his face.

Hermione frowned. "There's no need to be rude, Malfoy."  
"If you thought that was rude, wait until I get mean." His smirk was growing.  
"Why did you stop Pansy from calling me a Mudblood?" Hermione asked suddenly. She noticed that he had interrupted Pansy every time she had tried to insult her. It didn't make any sense. He had been oddly protective of her. She wanted answers. Draco's face slowly became pale; his smirk wiped away and showed no emotion but nervousness. He honestly didn't know why he had stopped Pansy all those times, he just got unbelievably angry at the fact that she was insulting Hermione.

"I don't know, Granger." He said finally.  
"There must have been a reason. Normally you would jump at the chance of anyone calling me a Mudblood or insulting me. Why are you acting differently?"  
"Honestly, Hermione…I just don't know. I don't know what's going on in my head. I told you that I changed. Summer was not great, terrible even. I'm having feelings that I normally wouldn't have for you, and I don't want to see you hurt. It's weird."

Hermione just stared. _'Is he for real?' _she thought. Draco put his head in his hands. _'Stupid, Draco. Now you've done it. Exposed something you're not even sure of yourself.'_

"So…did you want to be friends?" she asked.  
Draco looked up. "What?"  
"Do you want to be friends?" she asked again.  
"But...why would you…?"  
"Draco, I will admit that this sudden change in your attitude towards me is weird and definitely suspicious. I don't know what your intentions are…"  
"I have no intentions." He cut in angrily. She looked at him carefully.  
"…but if you're willing to drop your past and start new, so am I. But you'll have a hell of a lot to prove." She finished.  
Draco stared at her. "Well, uh...thanks Hermione. Thanks." He said almost in a whisper.  
Hermione was shocked but smiled and nodded.  
_'He said thank you. And he called me Hermione.'_

The rest of the carriage ride was silent, with an occasional glance and smile to each other. _'This is going to be an interesting year.'_ Draco thought.

*****


	2. Understanding

The Great Hall was loud as usual. The Sorting Hat had just sorted the last first year into Hufflepuff. Hermione was still milling over the conversation in the carriage with Draco and was smiling to herself.

"What are you so happy about?" Harry asked.  
"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just happy to be back." She replied.  
"Hey, what happened at the meeting?" Ron suddenly asked.  
"Yeah, Seamus and Neville said Malfoy freaked out." Harry said.  
Hermione looked over to the Slytherin table to see Draco talking quietly with Blaise.  
"Well, yeah Dra...Malfoy had an episode, but it was nothing special. Just the usual tempered Malfoy." Hermione said quickly.

Before they could interrogate her further, Dumbledore had taken his place at the head of the hall.  
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts." He said with a smile. "I would like to point out to first years, and a reminder to all, that the Black Forest is off-limits. Mr. Filch would like me to state that anyone seen within two feet of the forest without teacher supervision will be punished. Now, I know a lot of you have questions about the new safety precautions. I would ask that all students walk together. Never wander alone. Hogwarts is the safest place, yes, but we can never know what might happen. Prefects will be patrolling the halls every night as usual, with each other. I understand that some Prefects have concerns about walking with their fellow classmates in other houses. This is for House unity, as well as protection. If you have any questions feel free to ask the head of your house or myself. The Head Boy, Draco Malfoy, and Head Girl, Hermione Granger, will also be happy to help."

With that, Dumbledore sat down and watched the tables fill with food. Hermione finished eating and started collecting her things.  
"Where you going?" Harry asked.  
"I'm going to my room. I promised to write my mum as soon as I could. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Night."  
"Night." Harry said sullenly.  
Ron didn't say a word. He watched her walk off and continued eating his food. Draco looked up to see Hermione leaving. He quickly got his things together and ran off after her.

"Hermione!" Draco called.  
Hermione stopped walking and turned around.  
"Hi Draco." She said smiling.  
"Hi." he said catching up. "Where you headed?"  
"To the common room. I need to write my mum."  
"Oh, mind if I come with you then?"  
"It's your common room too, Draco." She said laughing.  
They continued walking together until they reached a portrait of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin playing Wizards' Chest.  
"Soap bubbles."  
The portrait opened up and Draco scowled walking in.  
"Soap bubbles? Honestly, where does Dumbledore get these passwords?"  
Hermione giggled and sat down. The common room hadn't changed much at all. Slytherins house colors clashed with Gryffindors in the middle of the room. A white and gold sofa sat in front of a lavish fire place with many intricate designs of lions and snakes. Hermione laid her writing materials on the table in front of her and began writing to her mother.

Draco put his things on the floor and sat down on the couch. He slowly closed his eyes and was shocked to see Hermione. His eyes flashed open. _'Damn it.'_ He thought. _'I can't get her out of my head.' _He sighed and gave up.  
"So, how did Potter and the weasel react when you told them we were friends?" he asked.  
Hermione stopped writing and looked over at Draco.  
"Um, well, I didn't tell them yet."  
"Oh. Why not?"  
"Because Harry's worried about Voldemort and Ron is…Ron. I don't want to tell them anything about us yet until I know I can trust you. Plus, I don't want them to freak out and over react to it."  
Draco looked hurt, but he nodded his head. "I understand."  
Hermione smiled. "Besides, it's not like you told any of your Slytherin friends that you decided to become friends with me. The Gryffindor Mudblood who talks too much."  
Draco smiled and stared into the fire. Hermione frowned. "Did you tell anyone, Draco?"  
"I told Blaise. Told him everything." He said after a while.  
"Blaise? What did he say? Do you really trust him with this? Won't he tell Pansy?"  
"Whoa. Relax. He's alright with it. _'Whatever makes you happy' _he said. I would trust Blaise with my life. And technically, his relationship with Pansy is strictly…when he needs comfort." Draco explained laughing.  
"I really hope you're right."

After an hour or two of talking, Hermione finished writing her letter and put her things away. She turned to Draco who had fallen asleep on the couch and smiled. _'He looks so peaceful when he sleeps.'_ Sighing, Hermione leaned against the couch and closed her eyes.

*********  
Draco snapped his eyes open. He was sweating. He tried to get up but was forced back down with his hand on his head.  
"Bloody hell." Draco said angrily._ 'Okay, think Draco. Why the hell does your head hurt? Butterbeer? No, I didn't have any. Why can't I remember anything?'_ Draco was getting upset. He put his hand down and jumped when he felt something move.

He looked over and noticed Hermione was sleeping next to him, with her head leaning against his stomach. His hand had landed on her shoulder. He was shocked and was about to push her away from him, but he couldn't help but just smile at her sleeping form. He ran a hand gently through her hair and leaned his head back against the couch. He shortly fell asleep with a tiny smile on his face, forgetting about why his head hurt.

Hermione woke up to find herself in Draco's arms. _'I guess I do move around a lot when I sleep.' _She thought. She smiled slightly up at Draco and leaned her head back onto his shoulder. She couldn't help but reach up and brush away some of his hair that had fallen in front of his face. She caught her breath when he moved his head. Hermione relaxed and continued to move his hair. _'What are you doing, Hermione? This is Draco Malfoy. MALFOY! The one person that has made your life hell for the past five years! Forget those feelings from second year! They don't need to come back.'  
_  
Hermione's memories of second year came flooding back to her. She had the biggest crush on Draco that year. No one but Ginny had known, but her crush had been forgotten in between Harry, Ron, school, and Voldemort. She tried to shake the memories but her feelings overwhelmed her. She looked up at Draco and her eyes focused on his lips. She had always wanted to know what it was like to kiss him. That feeling hadn't gone away, that's for sure.  
_'Don't do it, Hermione! What if he wakes up?! He'll be mad at you and spread around the school that you kissed him! But…what if he doesn't?'_ she thought. _'Well, there's only one way to find out.'_  
She leaned in and gently pressed her lips to his. She felt a hand wrap around her back and rest on her neck. She felt Draco react as he deepened the kiss. _'Okay, this is a good sign, right?'_ As soon as she thought this, Draco broke the kiss. He looked at Hermione and smiled. He kissed her forehead and got off the couch. Without saying a word, she watched him walk up to his room and slowly close the door.

She looked at his door for a few seconds and then rested back on the couch. She rubbed her face with her hands and sighed.  
"Okay." She said.

*********  
"Hermione! Open the door!"  
Hermione rolled off the couch and made her way over to the door.  
"Hi Ron."  
"Bloody hell! What side of the bed did you get up on?"  
"Oh, shut up Ron." Hermione said fixing her clothes and hair. "What do you want?"  
"We were supposed to meet Harry by the lake today, remember?"  
"Oh, right. I forgot. I'll be out in a minute. Want to come in?"

Ron walked in past Hermione and watched as she ran up the stairs to her room to change. Ron sighed and looked around the common room. His eyes stopped when he saw a black leather bag on the floor next to a chair. Curious, he picked it up and looked at it. Keeping the bag closed was an emblem of an 'M' with a golden snake wrapped around it. Ron looked around and opened the bag.

"Patrificus totalus!"  
Ron felt himself stiffen. Draco walked down the stairs and up to Ron. He took his bag out of his hands, tossed it onto the floor, and pointed his wand at Ron's throat.  
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't curse your ass into another country, Weasel." Draco sneered. He smirked when he saw the sweat roll down Ron's face.  
"Nervous?" he mocked. "I would be. Didn't that family of yours teach you not to go through peoples' things? Or can they not afford manners?" Draco said as he walked around Ron, his wand still pointed at his throat. "Too bad Potter isn't here to help you. I think you're more trouble than you're worth, Weasel."

"Expelliarmus!"  
Draco's wand flew over Ron's head and up into Hermione's hand. Draco's expression softened when he saw her. He looked over her and noticed that she wasn't wearing her school robes anymore. Hermione had changed into a blue and white tank top with low rise jeans and sneakers. He was in love with the way the shirt fit her.  
"What exactly did you think you were doing?!" Hermione asked angrily, snapping him out of his thoughts.  
Draco couldn't find the words to speak. He couldn't look away.  
"Draco! Answer me! What were you thinking?!"  
Draco looked from Hermione to Ron and shook his head. He groaned and rubbed his forehead.  
"I wasn't…" he replied.  
Hermione sighed, her anger deflating, and handed him his wand.  
"Can I trust you to perform the counter curse?"  
He nodded and took his wand. He lifted the curse and Ron fell to the floor.

"Are you insane?! He could of killed me and you just give him his wand?!" Ron gasped grabbing his throat.  
"If you weren't going through my bag this wouldn't have happened!" Draco yelled, his hands once again turning into fists.  
"If you didn't leave your disgusting stuff lying around I wouldn't have too! What if something in that thing could hurt Hermione?!" Ron yelled, his face getting beat-red.  
Hermione stepped between Ron and Draco. Draco was breathing heavy and wasn't sure if he could hold himself back.  
"Ron, maybe you should wait outside." Hermione said sternly.  
"But Hermione, what if he tries to hurt you again?"  
"I never tried to hurt her Weasel and I don't bloody plan on it! Why don't you listen to her for once and get your sorry ass out of here before I give you something to worry about!" Draco yelled.  
"Shut up, Malfoy."  
"Ron! Out!"

Ron looked from Hermione to Draco and slowly left the common room. Hermione let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and put her wand away. She walked over and picked up Draco's bag. She looked at it and handed it to him calmly. He stared at her, a puzzled look on his face, and he slowly reached for it. She pulled it out of his grasp quickly.  
"If there's anything in here that could hurt me, I'm going to kill you." she said with a tiny smile.  
Draco chuckled and shook his head no.  
"Good." She said tossing him the bag. "I wouldn't want to see you die so early in the school year." Draco caught his bag and placed it on the chair next to him.  
"Yeah, that would be unfortunate. What was the Weasel doing here anyway?" he asked.  
"I promised to spend the day with him and Harry down by the lake but I forgot. Ron came down to get me and he was just waiting for me while I changed."  
Draco nodded his head and brushed some hair out of his face.

"Do you have any plans today?" Hermione asked.  
"No. I'm just gonna stay here. Maybe go down to the library."  
"Oh. Well, if you wanted to do something after dinner or whatever…maybe we could find something to make you smile." She said.  
Draco grinned and shook his head.  
"Yeah, like that." She giggled. As she turned to leave she called back over her shoulder; "Smile more often, Draco. It looks good on you."

*********  
Hermione walked down to the lake to find Harry sitting on a rock watching Ron walk back and forth, his arms flailing in the air.

"What's going on?" she asked.  
"You bloody know what's going on you…you…ARG!"  
"Ron, chill. From what you told me this doesn't seem like that big of a deal."  
"She called him Draco, Harry! D-R-A-C-O! First name, not surname! FIRST NAME!"  
Ron picked up a rock and threw it into the lake. Harry looked over to Hermione with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Ron, why don't you stay here and calm down. Hermione, let's take a walk."  
Harry and Hermione walked in silence for a few moments until Harry broke it.  
"So, you wanna tell me what happened?"  
Hermione laughed quietly and stared at the sky.  
"You know, it's not what Ron told you at all."  
"Is it?"  
Hermione looked at Harry, worry had consumed her face.  
"Ron exaggerates everything! I was in my room and I heard Dracos voice. I figured he was talking to himself because I didn't hear anyone reply. When I came out I saw Ron standing there with Draco's bag in his hands. Yes, Draco could have had the choice to hurt Ron if he wanted too when I gave his wand back, but the fact that he didn't has to mean something."

Harry looked at Hermione with wide eyes.  
"Draco? So, you…are calling him by his first name now?"  
"Well, I…uh…y-yes, I suppose so."  
Harry shook his head and looked away.  
"Harry, you're not mad at me are you?"  
"No…Hermione, it's really hard to be mad at you." They both laughed quietly.  
"Look, if you want to be friends with Malfoy, then you obviously see something I don't, but I'm asking you to be careful. If anything happens to you, anything at all, contact with him will be very difficult."  
"Harry, nothing…"  
"Hermione, please. I care so much for you. You are one of the most important people in my life. I would never forgive myself if you got hurt. I love you…"

Hermione smiled and drew Harry into a hug.  
"Oh, Harry, thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me. I understand why you can't fully trust Draco but it means so much that you're accepting this. I don't know what it is about him, but I feel different around him."

Harry couldn't speak. All he could do was just smile and hug her back.

*********  
As they started walking back, Hermione began thinking about what Harry had said.

"Harry?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I love you too."  
Harry stopped walking. He was happy, but not as happy as he thought he would be. _'I've got to know what's going on.' _He thought.  
"Kiss me."  
"What?" Hermione said confused.  
"Hermione, I know it sounds crazy and whatever but I need to know what's going on inside this messed up head of mine. So, please, just kiss me."

She stared at Harry a moment and decided that maybe it might be able to fix whatever was making Harry distressed. They both leaned in and felt their lips touch. It was a short-lived, tiny kiss. With no passion attached. When they broke apart they both smiled. Harry breathed a breath of relief.

"Did that somehow fix that crazy mind of yours?" she asked laughing.  
Harry laughed with her. "Actually, yeah, it did. Hermione, I thought I was in love with you."  
"What?"  
"Yeah, but when you mentioned Malfoy, I didn't feel angry or jealous like I did with Ron. I don't know why, but I don't trust Ron with you."  
"Ron? Why would you be jealous of Ron?"  
"Because he likes you. A lot. But don't get close to him that way. I don't think it's a good idea. Ever since this Malfoy thing, he's…not been himself."  
"And you trust Draco?"  
"Well, yes and no. No is obvious, but Malfoy's the kind of guy that knows what he wants, and how to get it. Once he gets feelings for something, or someone, it doesn't just go away like it was never there. Hermione, if you like him and he likes you, I can actually see it possibly working out. Besides all the negatives, I mean."

Hermione smiled a little. She had never really thought about Draco and her actually getting together. The kiss that morning was something she had never experienced before, but she didn't really think much of it. Right now, she didn't want to think about it, she was just happy with the friendship._ 'Of course, if something happens, I'm not going to stop it.'_ She thought smiling.  
"Maybe. Whatever it is, I'm just glad to know I'll always have you. Right?"  
"Forever and ever." Harry smiled. They laughed and made their way up to the castle.

*********  
Harry and Hermione were running and chasing each other in the hall, laughing. Harry suddenly stopped, a bewildered look on his face.  
"Harry? What's wrong?"  
"We forgot Ron. Outside."  
"Oh. Did you want to go get him? I needed to go up to the library anyway."  
Harry thought and shook his head.  
"No, I'll go with you. I don't really want to listen to him talk about how angry and disappointed he is at you and how much he hates Malfoy and blah, blah, blah…"

They walked down the long corridor towards the library, talking about nothing, when they ran into a red haired, freckle faced 5th year.  
"Hey Hermione!" she said giving her a hug. "Harry."  
Harry nodded in her direction and blushed. Hermione noticed how awkward it had become.  
"Well, I know we have a lot of catching up to do Ginny, but I need to do some things. Maybe you and I can spend the day together tomorrow before classes start?"  
"Sounds good, Hermione." Ginny smiled.  
Hermione looked at Harry. "I'll see you later."

He looked at her in disbelief as she started off for the library, leaving him alone with Ginny. Hermione walked into the library. She smiled and took a deep breath. _'Home away from home.'_ She said to herself. She browsed the bookshelf, looking for her personal favorite 'Hogwarts: A History', when she heard some frustrated mutterings a few aisles over. She stopped what she was doing and chewed the side of her cheek nervously. She walked silently, her curiosity getting the best of her, and glanced down the aisles._ 'Nothing but books.'_ She thought relieved. It was then that she noticed someone sitting in a dark corner, surrounded by what had to be at least a hundred books.

She walked over and grinned when she saw that blonde hair that was unmistakably Draco. He was looking in book after book for something, but he was apparently not finding it. He slammed the book he was looking at closed and tossed it aside, cursing under his breath.  
"Oh, now that wasn't very nice." Hermione said.  
Draco jumped at the sound of her voice and turned to look at her.  
"For Merlin's sake, Hermione! What are you doing?"  
"Clearly giving you a heart attack." She laughed. "I could ask you the same question."

She sat down next to Draco, making it clear that she wasn't leaving until she got what she wanted. Although Draco was trying to make the best of the situation buzzing in his head, he couldn't help but feel annoyed with Hermione's perseverance and curiosity. He could feel her eyes burning into him with questions that he couldn't answer. Questions that he didn't want to answer. At least not yet. He figured that he could trust Hermione, no matter how he was raised, and was about to tell her what he was looking for, when someone interrupted his thoughts.

"Draco Malfoy. Slytherin Prince and Sex God, talking with Mudblood Granger. How cute. And all this time I just thought you were doing a good deed. Tell me that thing isn't your friend."  
Pansy Parkinson had walked up in front of Draco and Hermione. Draco groaned and rolled his eyes._ 'Where the hell is Blaise when you need him?' _he thought.  
"Something I can help you with Parkinson?" he asked coldly, not looking up at her once.  
"Why is the most popular Slytherin, the most popular guy in the school, talking to a bag of rubbish like Granger? Something I should know?"  
"Why don't you crawl back into your hole Pansy?" Hermione said.

Parkinson looked in her direction and scoffed. "I believe I was talking to Draco. You shouldn't be talking to your superiors, Granger. A disgusting Mudblood like you making nice with Draco, a Pureblood? You either cursed him or he's doing charity work." She laughed.  
Hermione had had enough. She stood up and took out her wand. She grabbed Pansy's hair and pushed her against one of the bookshelves, fury growing in her eyes. She pointed her wand at Pansy's throat. Pansy couldn't move. All she could do was feel fear creeping into her body. She knew Hermione was the smartest witch at Hogwarts, that she could blow her head off with a simple whisper and probably cover it up no problem. No one would believe that Hermione Granger threatened her life. Pansy tried to speak but stopped when she felt Hermione's wand dig into her neck.

"NOT – A – WORD." Hermione said through gritted teeth. Pansy shut her mouth and closed her eyes. She wasn't stupid enough to talk; she knew when she had gone too far. She was about to scream, hoping someone would hear her and come to help, when she felt Hermione's wand lift from her throat. She opened her eyes and saw Hermione in Draco's arms. He had snuck up behind her and he was pulling her away from Pansy. Hermione was kicking and flailing herself, struggling to get out of his grasp. Pansy watched as he held her tighter.

"Hermione, stop it!" Draco said to her. "I don't want you to get expelled. Hermione, please, I need you here, you need to stay here. Please calm yourself Hermione."  
Hermione stopped when she heard the word expelled. Draco's whisperings had an effect on her._ 'He needs me here? He NEEDS me?'_ Hermione sighed and put her hands on Dracos. A smile of relief crept on his face. "Thank you." he whispered into her ear.

*********


	3. Tension

The tension had grown in the library between the three. Pansy was growing uncomfortable, but she wasn't about to leave Draco alone with Hermione. She watched them closely, her eyes resting on Draco's hands, making sure they didn't wander. Pansy was getting extremely jealous. Draco was supposedly wrapped around her finger, but here he was, his arms holding that Mudblood, know-it-all Gryffindor. Pansy could feel her hands clench and unclench, and she could feel her body temperature rising.  
"Do you mind if I have a word with you, Draco?"

Draco and Hermione had almost forgotten she was still there. They were too lost in their own world. Draco didn't want to let go of Hermione, to his surprise, and the fact that she held on tighter proved that she wanted the same thing. He sighed and whispered into Hermione's ear. "Why don't you let me handle this?" Hermione looked at him and saw that famous Malfoy smirk. She nodded and felt his arms slip away from her. Pansy grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him into the next aisle. He snatched his hand away from her and pulled on a look that could kill.

"What do you think you're doing Draco?!"  
"I don't know what you mean, Parkinson." Draco replied, malice dripping off his words.  
"Stop calling me Parkinson! You know me well enough to call me Pansy! What is the matter with you?! Acting like you actually care about that prat of a witch! You would never in your life even breath with her in the room, let alone talk to her! Tell me what you are doing!"  
"I'm not doing anything! I happen to enjoy her company! Is that so wrong? I'm surrounded by twits all bloody day, the only person I can have an intellectual conversation with is Blaise!"

Draco could feel that sensation. The sensation that ran in his family, through their veins. The power. That power of Malfoy rage that could destroy an entire population if given the chance. Somehow, he didn't want it to come, but knew it would come no matter what. He was so sick of Pansy ruining every happy moment he had. And classes hadn't even started yet.

"Draco, we have been friends since we were born. We shared our first kiss with each other, we have a bond! Nothing can keep us from each other and you know that! Stop acting like you don't care about me and drop that Mudblood like the dirty piece of filth that she is!"  
Draco couldn't restrain himself. Anger had flooded his body and he was letting it burst out. He raised his arm and backhanded her across the face. Her hand went up to touch her face but he grabbed it and held it down. His face was inches from hers and she could feel the irritation coming off of him.  
"I have had enough of you acting like you own me." Draco said to her, his voice was cold and intimidating, his anger making his words come out shaky. "You have absolutely no right to tell me what to do and who to talk too. I have no desire to be with you, I've told you that a hundred times before."  
He released her hand and started to turn away. "Don't make me say it again."

He started to walk away, when he heard her speak silently.  
"I can't believe that Draco. I know you love me, I know…"  
"YOU KNOW NOTHING!" he had turned and was screaming in her face. "You know nothing about me at all Parkinson! That girl over there," he was pointing to Hermione, who had come around to see what was going on. "that girl is amazing. She has more wit and brains than you will ever have and I will NOT stand around while you insult her continuously because of your jealousy! This thing that you have in your head of me loving you is nothing but a dream, a NIGHTMARE to me! I will not be pulled around with by you anymore! Do you understand?! NO MORE PARKINSON!"

Draco was breathing unbelievably fast. His thoughts were racing as he watched Pansy slowly back away from him and run out of the library. The frustration that he had let build up inside of him was releasing and he made that known as he slammed his fist into the nearest bookshelf, causing the books on it to topple onto the floor around him. Hermione could see how much in pain he was. All the emotions held inside him were tearing him apart. Hermione slowly walked over to him and touched his shoulder. He snapped his head around. His eyes that held rage and furiousness, slowly softened at the sight of Hermione's worried and scared face.

Hermione had begun crying a little, seeing Draco break down. Tears had formed in his eyes and he was letting them fall. He had exposed his vulnerable side to her and there was no going back. Hermione cupped his face in her hand and wiped away the falling tears with her thumb. He gazed at her, and pulled her into a tight hug, burying his head into her hair. He was crying hard now, she could feel his body convulsing when she wrapped her arms around him. She tried to hold back the flood of tears that threatened to fall from her eyes, not wanting to possibly upset him more.  
"It's okay, Draco. It's okay. Everything will be alright."  
As she whispered to him, he held her tighter and shook his head.  
"I'm sorry Hermione. I'm sorry."  
She shook her head. "You didn't do anything wrong Draco. It's okay."

She could feel him rejecting her words, but didn't let go of his tight grip on her body. She could feel his chest heaving in heavy sighs against hers, practically tearing her heart out.  
"Don't leave me. Please, not that I finally found someone that might care for me. Please don't."  
"I'm not going anywhere Draco. I'm right here, I'll always be right here. I care. I do." She whispered back.  
They stayed there, just holding each other and whispering, fearing that if they parted, the world would fall apart.

*********  
WHAM!  
The 6th year boy's dormitory door slammed shut as Ron stomped his way into the room, looking for Harry. He finally found him talking with Neville.  
"You!"  
Harry turned around with a confused look on his face.  
"Ron? What's the matter?"  
Ron didn't answer him, but just kept walking towards him and slugged him in the nose. Harry flew back and hit the wall, his hand covering his already swelling nose. Seamus and Dean, who were watching when Ron walked in, ran over and slammed Ron to the floor before he could harm Harry any further.  
"What the bloody hell is the matter with you?!" Seamus yelled.  
"GET OFF ME!"  
"Relax Ron!" Dean added.

The two boys were struggling to keep Ron down. Neville helped Harry stand up. Harry had a confused and bewildered look on his face. His nose was bleeding now and his sleeve was getting drenched from trying to cease it.  
"C'mon Harry, let's get you to the Hospital Wing." Neville said.  
Harry only nodded and continued to look at Ron as Neville escorted him out of the dorm.  
"Don't you ever talk to me again, you traitor! EVER!" Ron screamed.  
Harry could only look before the door closed. He made his way down the stairs with Neville when Fred and George stopped them.  
"Oi, Harry. What happened to you?" Fred asked.  
"Yeah, looks like you got into a fight with a bludger…and lost." George added.  
"That's not the brightest thing to do, mate." Fred continued.  
"Ron did it." Harry answered. The twins' smiles fell off their faces and they stared at Harry with their mouths agape.

"Ron did what?" George said. Harry shook his head, not wanting to explain. He didn't even know why Ron had hit him, he just…did.  
"Ron came into the dorm, walked over to Harry and punched him. Just like that. He looked like his wand had backfired on him again or something." Neville explained.  
Curious looks spread on the twins faces, followed by fury and disappointment.  
"Wait till mum hears about this." George said.  
"No, don't!" Harry said immediately. "I don't know why Ron is mad at me but telling Mrs. Weasley will probably just make it worse. Don't."  
"Well, we won't tell, but she'll find out eventually, Harry. That woman knows everything." Fred added. "Kinda scary now that I think about it."  
"Don't worry, Harry. We'll make sure Ron doesn't hurt you again; we're your Beaters after all. It'll just be like on the Qudditch field." George smiled, nudging Fred in the arm.  
"Yeah, don't panic. Just clean yourself up and act like nothing happened. That'll drive him crazy!" Fred joked. The twins ran up the stairs laughing with each other and into the dormitory.

*********  
Ron was pacing back and forth in the dorm. Seamus and Dean had finally let him go, and were watching him from a corner of the room, making sure he didn't freak out again on someone else. When Fred and George walked in the room, Ron's face went pale.  
"So, little brother, we heard you had a lovers' quarrel with Harry. Did he cheat on you, Ronniekins?" George asked, a smile on his face.  
"No! Harry is a git! He's acting like we were never friends! Taking her side like he owes her his life or something!"  
Ron had started pacing the room again, that uncontrollable temper of his was rising.  
"What do you mean? Does this have to do with Hermione?" Fred questioned.  
"Yes it has to do with Hermione! She let Malfoy get away with attacking me, Harry walks off with her to 'talk', and then they leave me there by the lake! They just left! Didn't even come back once!"  
"Maybe it's because your temper is worse than Voldemort after a bottle of firewhiskey." George mocked.

The twins laughed as Rons face grew red. Dean and Seamus chuckled under their breaths. Ron couldn't believe everyone was siding with Harry. His own family!  
"You two are traitors just like him! What if Malfoy tries to hurt Hermione?! She can't stand up to him, she's just a girl! I don't like him being near her. Calling each other by their first names like they were actually friends!"  
"Um, maybe they are friends." Dean slipped in.  
"WHY IS EVERYONE BEING SO CALM ABOUT THIS?!" Ron yelled out.  
"Because you're the only one that is too stubborn to let go!" Fred yelled back. "Hermione doesn't have those sort of feelings for you and you act like it's the end of the world. The minute she talks to another guy you're hovering over her and pulling her away! Like she was your property or something! You DON'T own her Ron! Get over the fact that she doesn't love you like that and move on with your life, you git!"

George looked at his brother with astonishment. A tiny smile showed on his face.  
"Clever." He said.  
Ron was going insane. They were just going to let this happen? 'Well, not me.' Ron thought. He laid himself down on his bed and closed the curtains. Silence passed through the room as the boys shuffled around the room towards the door, not sure if they should open it.  
"Want to see how Harry is doing, then?" Dean asked.  
The boys nodded and left the room, not even bothering to say goodbye to Ron.  
**  
*******  
"Don't tell Hermione about this." Harry said to Neville as Madam Pomfrey fixed his nose. "She has a lot on her mind. She doesn't need to start worrying about me."  
"But she'll want to know what happened to you. How on earth are you going to explain yourself to her when your nose is the size of a hippogriff?"  
Harry chuckled a little and adjusted his glasses. "I dunno. I'll think of something."

The two friends sat and talked while Madam Pomfrey gathered together some medicine that Harry would need later, when Draco Malfoy walked into the Wing with a calm look on his face.  
"Potter. Longbottom." Draco nodded his head in their direction and continued to walk past them. He walked up to the medicine cabinet and took out a long, thin, blue bottle with _D. Malfoy_ scribbled on it.  
"Accio cup." He muttered, pointing to a nearby table. A small, clear glass cup floated over into Draco's waiting hand. He placed it on the table and un-corked the blue bottle. Harry and Neville watched silently as he poured the contents of the bottle into the glass. He stopped when it reached half-way, re-corked the bottle and put it back into the cabinet. Draco took some other form of medicine, measured, and poured the powder into the cup holding the now purple liquid.

He mixed the powder, and downed the glass in one gulp. He scrunched his face and swallowed. He put the glass away and turned to see Harry and Neville staring at him questioningly. Not really in the mood to explain himself, he nodded towards Harry's nose.  
"What happened to you?"  
Harry's hand went up to his nose and he sighed. "Ron."  
Draco could only give a look of shock. "Weaselby did that to you?"  
"Yeah."  
"Well," Draco smirked, "guess he was more jealous of you than everyone thought, eh Potter?"  
"Don't be a git, Malfoy."  
"I'm not being a git. Stating the obvious. It was only a matter of time before he cracked. I'm surprised it took him this long." Draco said. "Not that you're not a charming person, Potter." He added sarcastically with a bow, remembering that he was Hermione's best friend.  
"Funny." Harry replied.

"What was the medicine for?" Neville asked.  
Draco turned his attention to Longbottom and decided to at least attempt and be nice to him.  
"If you must know, it's for my head. I've been getting excruciating headaches at night. Potter could tell you all about it. It seems to be the same dosage that Pomfrey gives to you when your scar starts to hurt."  
"Really?"  
"Feels like something is burning your skin, trying to force itself into your mind?"  
"…yeah." Harry answered with a questioning look.  
Harry and Draco stared at each other for a few moments, understanding sweeping their faces, making it very awkward.

"Well, I suppose I'll leave you two. I'm guessing that you would appreciate if I didn't tell Hermione that you were here, Potter?"  
Harry looked at him in disbelief, but nodded his head.  
"Suit yourself." Draco shrugged and walked out of the Wing, leaving Harry and Neville to sit and stare at each other.  
**  
*******  
Sunday came quickly for most of the students, but for Hermione, it was just another day preventing Monday from coming any sooner. She was lying on her bed, reminding herself of everything that she had to do that day._ 'Not too much going on.' _She thought. She sat herself up and stretched her arms and legs. Rubbing her face with her hands, she slowly stood up and made her way to the bathroom. Thoughts of how Draco and her had suddenly stopped talking since Thursday trapped themselves in her head,. The behavior was odd, but she figured that he needed space. Or he had come to his senses about their sudden relationship. She opened the door to find it warm and moist. The shower was going and Hermione felt the blood rush to her cheeks when she remembered Malfoy and herself had to share the bathroom with each other.

She figured it wouldn't be a problem if she brushed her teeth real quick, so she hurried over to the sink and tried to ignore the fact that there was a naked Draco in the room. She didn't hear the water turn off, nor did she hear the glass door opening and closing. Draco didn't notice Hermione until he heard the faint sound of water still running. He looked over and saw her, with her back facing him. He quietly groaned and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his lower half.  
"Ever heard of knocking?" he finally said.  
Hermione turned around. Her eyes grew wide at the state Draco was in. She couldn't help but stare at his chest, wet, of course, but also very well toned. His towel was dangerously low, she could tell, but she still couldn't tear her eyes away. Draco noticed her lingering eyes and smirked.

"Like what you see? I don't blame you."  
Hermione blushed and turned back around to face the sink. Draco's smirk grew. He liked the effect she had on her. He walked behind her and slowly grabbed his toothbrush from its hook. Hermione tried not to look in his direction. Draco could only stare at her and smile. He ran a hand through his hair and started to brush his teeth. Hermione had gone over to the other side of the bathroom, so it gave him more room around the sink. He looked over his shoulder and stared at her back. The sunlight coming in from the window was reflecting off her skin, giving it a glow that most people would pay for. Her silhouette showed him that she had grown into her curves, and he liked the way it looked.

His mind had wandered and he began thinking about how good her body had felt against his, but before he could think any farther, Hermione had come back over to the sink. He looked her up and down and smiled at the mini skirt that she was wearing. After fighting with himself for a few moments he put his toothbrush back on its hook and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms.

"Yes?" Hermione asked.  
"What do you have planned today?" he asked.  
She looked at him questioningly. "I'm spending the day with Ginny. Anything else you'd like to know about me before I leave?"  
He smirked. They had gone from comforting friends in the library to bickering children in the bathroom. And in only a few days. He couldn't help but run over these thoughts in his head. _'Too much pride.' _He concluded in thought. Finally, he decided to end the bickering.  
He walked up behind her, grabbed her waist and twisted her around. Hermione was shocked.  
"Malfoy, what are you doing?"  
"I'm tired of arguing with you. Why have we gone back to surnames, Granger?"  
Hermione couldn't help but ponder this herself. They had gotten along so well since they had arrived and now she realized their pride was making them go back to their normal routine.

"I...uh, don't know." Hermione found it hard to talk with Draco holding her the way he was. She found she couldn't breathe normally. She took a deep intake of breath when his hand rested on her cheek. He rubbed his hand across her skin, amazed at how soft it was, and let it roam down her neck. He pushed her hair out of the way and let his hand fall to her shoulder. Before she could protest, Draco was kissing along her jaw line, rubbing her shoulder. His breath in her ear was more than she could take. He felt her weakening and stopped what he was doing.  
"Alright Granger?" he asked.  
"I'm…fine Malfoy." Her voice stuttered. He smirked at her and lifted her up by her waist so that she was sitting on the sink with her legs around him. He continued to kiss down her neck and back up, nipping on her ear and back down to her jaw line. She let herself get lost in the moment and ran her hands through his hair. That perfect hair that no one else could touch. She smiled to herself and tugged on the blonde hair gently. She felt his reaction as he intensified his kisses.

Hermione ran her hands from his hair down to his shoulders and over his chest. She lingered there for a moment as she felt him react by pushing himself into her more. As she ran a hand down his back, she froze. His perfect skin was scarred. She pushed him away from her. Draco looked at her confused.  
"What's the matter?" he asked.  
She hopped off of the sink and turned him around. She gasped when she saw his back. There were little scars all over, some old and some fairly new. She ran a hand over one of his scars and shuddered. Tears had formed in her eyes. He turned back around to face her; he didn't think she would find out this soon.

"Its okay." He said, wiping away her tears.  
"Okay? Draco, your back looks like someone cut it up! What happened?"  
Draco sighed. "My father has very high hopes for me. It's hard being put under the pressure of walking in his shoes. He says that I'm going to be the best. Only sometimes, lately, I don't want what he's been planning for me. Those are just reminders of how I should act, around his 'business associates'. And him."

Hermione could only stare into his eyes. Those pools of blue and silver had turned gray and cold. Unwelcoming. She needed to make things right. Maybe she could be the one to help Draco stay off the path that his father had laid out for him. She threw her arms around him and pulled him in for a deep kiss. Draco was startled but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, pressing her body into his. He could feel Hermione struggling with her self-control. So he ran his tongue over her bottom lip and felt Hermione oblige by opening her mouth. The kiss had become overwhelming but they both knew that they needed it. Needed each other. Reluctantly, Draco broke the kiss and looked at Hermione. They were both breathing heavy. Her face was full of disappointment and he smiled.

"I think we should pick this up later. You wouldn't want the Weaselette thinking you've forgotten about her." He said as one hand played with her hair and the other rested on the small of her back. Hermione frowned.  
"I think I did forget about her. Maybe I should just stay here…with you?"  
Draco smiled and kissed her lightly.  
"As much as I would like that, we have priorities. I do have some Slytherins to order around. Don't want them to think I've lost my touch."  
She smiled back and let Draco pull her into another hug.  
"I'll see you tonight" He whispered in her ear. She nodded and watched as he walked into his room and closed the door.

*********


	4. Explosions

Draco walked down to the dungeons, trying to hide his grin as the morning events ran through his mind. It took all he had to stop himself from turning around and running back into the Head common room and staying there with Hermione all day.  
"Exploding snaps."  
The Slytherin common room looked the same as it always had. Nothing had changed in his absence. Draco had always felt safe here; there was just something about it that put his mind at rest._ 'Better than home.' _He thought. He walked across the room and threw himself onto the forest green sofa. He let his body sink into the soft cushions and closed his eyes. Before he could let his mind wander, he heard a door opening and the sound of footsteps trudging down the stairs.

"Draco?"  
Draco smiled as he opened his eyes and stood up to greet his fellow Slytherin.  
"Hey Blaise."  
"What are you doing down here? Thought you'd be avoiding Pansy after yesterday."  
"Oh, you uh, heard about that?" Draco asked rubbing the back of his neck.  
Blaise snickered. "Draco, the entire Slytherin house heard about it. She came down here crying and screaming about how you had turned on the Slytherins, but like always, no one really paid any attention."  
Draco smiled. _'Reputation is still safe.'_  
"Yeah. Actually, I came down here because I need someone to talk to about some things. Have any time?"  
"Why even bother asking?" Blaise grinned and patted Draco on the back.

Walking out of the common room, Blaise noticed Draco had become sullen. Walking by the library, Draco stopped. Puzzled, Blaise looked into the library to see what he was staring at. The only ones that were in there was Hermione and Ginny. Blaise turned to Draco and was surprised to see his sullen face had brightened up in a way he had never seen before.

"Um, Draco? C'mon buddy, focus. Come on back." Blaise said snapping his fingers in front of his face.  
"Hmm? Oh, um, sorry Blaise. What were you saying?"  
"I wasn't saying anything. What were you staring at?"  
"…Nothing."  
"Bull. You were staring at Granger, weren't you?"  
Draco's eyes went wide. He looked around and pulled Blaise into a hidden passageway.  
"How did you know?"  
"Draco, I'm not as dimwitted as Parkinson. And don't make me mention Crabbe and Goyle. You've been in a daze since that damn carriage ride."  
Draco ran a hand through his hair and slumped against the wall. "I don't know what to do."  
Blaise chuckled. "You're kidding, Proxy-Connection: keep-alive  
CaProxy-Connection: keep-alive  
Cache-Control: max-age=0

e-Control: max-age=0

ght?"  
"What?"  
"Don't be stupid Draco. The second you told me you two had decided to become friends I knew it wasn't going to stay that way for long."  
Draco sighed.  
"I can't help it. She intrigues me. She makes me feel like I'm actually worth while. She…cares."  
Blaise took a deep breath and slid down the wall next to Draco.  
"Okay, look. I have nothing against this. You're my best friend and we've been through a lot. You know that I will support you with any decision that you make, including this one, but you do realize this is a very dangerous game you're playing? I'm not just talking about what your father would do anymore. Weasley believes that he owns that girl. I'm surprised you can even get a word in edgewise the way he hovers around her. The bloke is bloody insane, Draco."

"I can handle it." Draco said, his aggravation at the mention of Weasley growing. "Weasley is nothing. I've dealt with him before."  
"But this time you're involving Hermione, and he does have a temper that can surpass your own, believe it or not."  
"Don't worry about it! He isn't going to stop me and Hermione from being together, if it happens, and I'm not going to let him. I'll take care of this by myself."  
Blaise shook his head.  
"You can't always try to do it all on your own, Draco."  
"I have no choice."  
"Yes, you do! Stop acting like your father is here! Take help when it's offered! You don't need to do anything alone. Especially with me around. If you want her in your life, that's something you need to learn."  
"What if she doesn't want me?! What if she doesn't care about me at all?!"  
"Then she wouldn't be wasting her time."

Draco watched Blaise get up and walk toward the main corridor.  
"You know where to find me if you need to talk again. And if you decide to let her in, let her know of the risks she'll be taking."  
Draco nodded as Blaise walked out of sight. Looking around himself out of pure habit, Draco slowly got up and walked down the hallway, shoving his hands into his pockets.

*********  
"So what's going on?! I want to know everything!" Ginny exclaimed.  
"Well," Hermione smiled. "There is something I need to tell you. Harry sort of already knows."  
"Tell me!"  
"Okay, well, it started on the carriage ride up here. Heads had to ride together so Draco and I had no choice. And to make a long story short, we decided to become friends."  
"Draco? Wow, that is weird. Especially him being the prat that he is! Has he been mean or anything at all?"  
"No. That's the surprising part. He was oddly nice when we first ran into each other at the Prefect meeting. He even yelled at Parkinson for almost calling me a Mudblood. He's changed a great deal."  
"How do you think that happened? So fast I mean." Ginny asked.  
Hermione shuddered when she remembered the scars along Dracos back.  
"I'm not sure. But there's…a bit more than just us being…friends."

Ginny looked at Hermione intently.  
"What do you mean…more than just friends?"  
"Well, umm, okay, you see, Draco and I have…kissed."  
"Are you joking?!"  
"No…"  
"Hermione! That's amazing!"  
"What?"  
"You kissed Draco Malfoy! You've done something no other girl has been able to do! You cracked his surface!"  
"Ginny…you're taking this so well. Are you alright?" Hermione grinned.  
"I'm excited for you! Do you think you two will possibly think about…going out?"  
"Oh! I don't think so."  
"Why not?"  
"There's too much standing in the way. And Ron is the biggest."  
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't worry about Ron. Do you like Draco?"  
"Yes, I do but…"  
"Then nothing should be holding you back. As long as Draco isn't being a bloody git like he always is then I approve. And I'm sure Harry does too. We're all you need. Ron will come around. He's just slow and very stubborn."

Hermione sighed and looked down at the book that she was reading. But she found that she couldn't concentrate on the words. Would Ron be able to put aside his infatuation and just be happy for her? _'Yeah, and Voldemort will apparate himself into Azkaban.'_ She thought. It was useless.

Walking down to the Great Hall was actually a very good way to let go of some steam. Draco found this out in his second year. He sat down at the Slytherin table. Blaise and the others were already there.  
"Hey mate. Where have you been? Thought I would've seen you around after this morning." Blaise said.  
"I decided to take a very long walk around the grounds."  
"Good idea. Pansy was looking for you all day. But some of the girls were saying that she locked herself in Myrtles bathroom. Driving the poor girl crazy. Like she needs something more to be angry about." Blaise laughed.  
Draco laughed with him and relaxed.

A half hour or so had passed when Hermione and Ginny walked into the Great Hall. Draco watched them walk in. He still couldn't believe how gorgeous Hermione looked in her mini skirt. _'To think how a muggle came up with that is beyond me.'_ He thought. Hermione looked over to the Slytherin table and locked eyes with Draco. Noticing this, Draco smirked and winked in her direction. Hermione blushed and sat down next to Harry and Ginny. Draco's smile soon fell when he saw the way Ron was looking at her. It looked as if he was undressing her with his eyes. He didn't look happy or loving towards her like he always did, he almost looked…menacing.

Draco felt uneasy throughout the duration of dinner.  
"Blaise."  
"Yeah?"  
"Look at the weasel."  
Blaise looked over at Ron and shook his head.  
"What about him? Besides the fact that he eats like an animal."  
"Something's wrong. I don't like the way he's looking at Hermione."  
Blaise looked again and nodded.  
"If looks could kill, Hermione could do it in a second. No wonder he's staring at her. I'm surprised he's actually eating the food in front of him instead of her."  
Draco scowled with a look of pure hatred towards Ron.

"Jealous?"  
"Of what?"  
"That he's sitting with her, and you're not?"  
Draco considered this a moment.  
"No, I get her to myself when we're in the common room. There's just something wrong with him."  
"How can you tell?"  
"Just really look at him. He's never looked that way before."  
Blaise squinted his eyes and focused on Ron's face. It was pale and his eyes looked cold and distant. But he still had that smug grin painted on.  
"Well, he does look off, but I don't think it's anything you should worry about. Just try and forget it, mate."

Draco turned to look at Hermione again. He was worried, and he knew it, he just didn't know why all of these feelings were ganging up on him all at once. Hermione was laughing with Ginny, talking quietly with her, obviously not wanting Harry or Ron to hear. She looked up and gave Draco a wide smile. He couldn't help but give her a small smile back before continuing his meal.

*********  
Walking down the hall after dinner, Draco scanned the hall for Hermione. The hall full of students had begun to diminish and soon he was one of the few students left. Figuring she went back to the common room, he climbed the stairs slowly with his hand gripping the banister. When he reached the top of the stairs, he heard a faint crying sound. It was coming from Myrtle's bathroom, so he obviously assumed it was her, but something pulled him towards it anyways.

Pushing open the door, he poked his head in and looked around. The floor was covered with water, all the sinks were turned on and the toilets were overflowing. A faint light was glimmering off of the water as he made his way to the center of the bathroom.  
"Malfoy!"  
Draco spun around with his wand pointed towards the sound, his eyes shooting wildly back and forth.  
"And what do you intend to do with that?"  
Draco let out a breath of relief and put his wand away.  
"Scared you, didn't I? Well, that's what you get for coming into the GIRLS bathroom. I should have you reported right now, but… it's been so long since a boy has been in here."  
Myrtle floated around Draco, sighing as she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her ghostly arms around him. Draco pushed through her arms and whipped around to face her.

"Look, I only came in here because I heard someone crying. Was it you or is someone else in here?"  
Myrtle pouted and dove into the water covered floor, popping her head back up.  
"There is another girl in here. She burst in here early this morning, muttering something or other about some boy that couldn't see the error of his ways. She ran into that stall, over there, but I haven't talked to her at all, oh no. Why would I want to concern myself with some foolish little girls love life?"  
Draco looked at the stall Myrtle pointed too, and slowly walked over and pushed the door open. Pansy was sitting on top of the toilet, avoiding the falling water coming out of it. She looked up and her face lit up when she saw Draco.  
"Draco! I knew you would come for me!" she exclaimed, throwing herself onto him.  
He immediately pushed her off and she fell back and hit her back on the edge of the stall door.

"I only came to bring you back to the Slytherin common room. I am Head Boy and soon, you will be out after hours. So before your thoughtlessness loses our House points, I suggest you come with me now."  
Pansy could only stare at Draco and pout. She looked at him longingly, begging him to reconsider.  
"Move it, Parkinson! I don't have all bloody night!"  
Pansy made her way to the door with Draco following and practically ran down the stairs. She kept a good distance from him the entire way down. When they reached the painting to the common room, he stood at the end of the small corridor and watched as she slowly said the password and entered the common room.

Shaking his head, Draco turned around and walked down the hall. He suddenly stopped when he felt a sliver of pain run through his chest. He leaned against the wall, his hand gripping his head. _'Something's wrong.'_ He looked around. Nothing. His thoughts were racing as he tried to think of what could be making him feel like this. His eyes grew wide at the thought of Hermione. He gathered himself together and bolted down the corridor to the portrait of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin, praying that nothing happened to Hermione.

*********  
"So what was it like?" Ginny asked. She was anxious to know everything about Hermione and Draco.  
"I don't know. It wasn't that long of a kiss, but it was pretty amazing, actually. I had no idea that Draco could make someone feel that way without saying anything. Nothing like Harry's kiss…"  
"Wait, what?" Ginny stopped in her tracks. She was looking at Hermione with confusion and hurt.  
"Oh. Ginny, it's not what it sounds like. Harry thought he had feelings for me, so he asked me to kiss him to get his mind straight…so I did. It was nothing. I promise. Harry and I are just friends. Besides, it seemed like you two were getting along very well at dinner."  
Ginny smiled and started walking with Hermione again.  
"We had an interesting conversation yesterday when you left for the library. But I'll tell you about that later. I want to know more about Draco!"  
Hermione laughed. "There's really nothing more to tell. We've only kissed that one time."

With the thought of Draco running through her mind more and more, Hermione was wondering if he was thinking about her too.  
"What are you going to do about Ron?"  
"Hmm? Ron?" Hermione sighed. "I have no idea. I could let this run its course I guess. That's all I can do. He doesn't want me to talk to Draco but that's something he's going to learn to deal with. I mean, if you and Harry can deal with it, than why can't he?"  
"I know. Ron is stubborn like that, but he means well. He cares about you a lot Hermione."  
"Yeah, and I care about him too, but just not in that way. I guess, maybe, at one point I did, but that feeling is long gone."  
"Especially with Draco around." Ginny smiled.  
The girls laughed and continued walking to the Gryffindor common room. When they got to the portrait of the fat lady, they said their good-byes and parted.

As Hermione started walking down to her own common room, she couldn't help but get the feeling that someone was following her. She looked behind her, but saw no one, so she brushed it off and continued walking. Suddenly, a hand popped out of the air and covered her mouth. Her muffled screams was the only sound that filled the hallway. Another arm wrapped around her arms and started dragging her towards the astronomy tower. Hermione kicked and fought against the strong arms holding her down. Finally, the assailant had enough. He turned Hermione around and pointed a wand in her face. She stopped moving and stared straight at the wand.

"Petrificus Totalus."  
Hermione felt herself get stiff.  
"Mobiliarbus." Hermione rose in the air and watched carefully as the assailant and her floating body, made their way up the stairs to the astronomy tower. _'Help. Someone help, please someone come.'_ All Hermione could do was think. She dared not to speak with no protection against herself. Who knows what this person would do to her? _'Draco. Oh God, please let Draco come. Somehow.'_  
Hermione thoughts stopped when she felt the cool stones of the floor hit her back. She saw the floating wand point at her. She closed her eyes and expected the worst.  
"Finite Incantatum." Hermione flashed open her eyes and felt the invisible confines holding her body still, let go. She looked around and gasped when she saw that her assailant had taken off his invisibility cloak.

"Ron?!"  
Ron was standing there with a smug look on his face.  
"Hermione, I just want to talk to you."  
"Merlin's beard! Why couldn't you talk to me like a normal person instead of scaring the wits out of me?!"  
"Because every time I try too lately Malfoy always seems to pop up! Even if he's not near you, he's still there. Watching your every move! I wanted to get you alone."  
"You could've just asked. You don't have to be a bloody git."  
"Can you please not call me that?" Ron's face was getting red.  
"I'll call you whatever I want, Ronald. You had no right to do what you did tonight."  
"You have no right to talk to Malfoy as if he was never mean to you! People don't change over night!"  
"You're impossible! Some people do change Ron! Maybe you and Draco switched personalities or something because you're turning into a bigger prat than he ever was!"  
Ron took hold of Hermione's shoulders and slammed her against the wall. She made a tiny yelp as she felt her head smack against the hard stone. She looked up at Ron and saw the fury in his eyes.  
"Don't you ever compare me to Malfoy again, you understand?!"

All Hermione could do was nod. She was too frightened to do anything else. Ron was gripping her shoulders tightly, digging his nails into her skin. She winced as he began to draw blood.  
"Ron, please…let go. You're hurting me. Please…"  
"Oh, like Malfoy almost killed me?!" He was yelling into her ear now, anger swelling up inside of him. How could she be so stupid? "You will never talk to him again!"  
"Ron…you can't tell me who to tal-"  
SMACK!  
"I said…you will NEVER talk to him again."

Hermione's cheek was red from where Ron hit her. She couldn't believe what was happening. Ron had gone completely berserk. Hermione only had one shot. As she felt his tight grip on her loosening, she kicked with all her might. He grabbed his knee and shouted in pain. She didn't look back as she ran towards the door.  
"Crucio!"  
Hermione screamed and fell to the floor in a heap. Ron walked over to her and looked down on her fallen form. He sighed and made his way down the stairs and back to the Gryffindor tower, leaving Hermione alone.

*********  
"Fire Whiskey."  
The portrait opened and Draco ran inside. He quickly looked around and ran up to Hermione's room and threw open the door.  
"Damn it!" he yelled as he slammed the door shut. "I gotta find out where she is."  
He ran into his room and quickly opened the trunk at the end of his bed and pulled out his black leather bag. He shuffled around some items until he finally grasped what he was searching for. He pulled out a golden hand mirror, sleek and smooth to the touch. He looked at it nervously, but pointed his wand at it nonetheless.

"Revealio, Granger." The smooth surface of the mirror began to swirl with white and blue smoke until a hazy image started to appear. Hermione's shaky figure began to come in clearer, still lying in a heap on the floor of the astronomy tower. She was breathing heavy, he noticed, and she could barely move. Draco stared in shock, his eyes wide with terror. He threw the mirror down on his bed and ran towards the astronomy tower, nearly hitting the wall on his way out.  
**  
*******


	5. Karma

He ran as fast as he could. He needed to get to her, to find out what happened. _'Please don't let this be what I think it is.' _He finally reached the astronomy tower and made his way up the stairs, taking two to three at a time. When he finally reached the top, he pulled out his wand and slowly pushed the door open. It was quiet and peaceful, along with the soft sound of ragged breathing. His eyes landed on Hermione, who was trying to sit herself up against the wall.  
"Hermione…" he whispered. He walked over and kneeled down in front of her. Her face was bent down. He raised his hand up to turn her face towards his, but she flinched at the sudden movement. Draco watched her fidget with herself, a ripping feeling of sorrow filling his body. Confused at the feeling, he sat down slowly next to her and rested his back on the wall. If she wasn't going to tell him what happened, he would just have to sit and wait for it to all come spilling out.

She couldn't stand another human being in the room with her. She wanted to be alone, why wouldn't this person just go away? Somehow, she knew the person wasn't leaving on his own account, but he wasn't going to go if she told him too either. _'Would he go and get someone else to help me?'_ she thought to herself.  
"D-Draco." She started shakily. "Go get Draco…"  
The person laughed quietly and scooted closer to Hermione's delicate body.  
"N-no.., I want Draco…"  
"Look at me, Hermione."  
Slowly and carefully, she turned her head towards the person. Her eyes grew wide and had begun to fill with tears. Blondish-white hair was cascading down in front of his eyes as she threw herself onto him with all the strength she had left. She cried into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. He rubbed her back carefully and stroked her hair with his other hand.

They stayed there for a few minutes, Draco rocking her back and forth to try and calm her down. Finally, he slowly pushed her off of his chest and looked down at her. She was a torn person, and he knew how that felt. He felt her shivering now, and mentally smacked himself for not taking her back to the dorm sooner. He helped her stand up, her legs wobbly from the intense pain of the curse. It was a slow walk down the stairwell to the hallway, but Draco's patience had grown with her. _'Blaise was right.'_ He said to himself. _'You're starting to care for her.'_ He realized that this wasn't just a game for him any more. It might've started off that way, but now he knew that she was growing on him, he just didn't want to admit it.

Stumbling into the common room, he quickly helped Hermione to the couch and pulled a blanket around her. She took the blanket gratefully and wrapped it tightly around herself. Draco went around and brought a cup of water to her lips. When she wouldn't drink it, Draco sighed.  
"You need to drink something, Hermione. Try?"  
Hermione glanced at Draco and slowly took the cup from his hands. Hermione shivered as the cool water ran down her dry throat. Draco smiled slightly as he watched her put the cup on the table and lean back into the couch, closing her eyes.

"You going to tell me what happened or are you going to torture me by making me wait?"  
"I...I don't think I can talk about it right now."  
Draco sighed and got up. "Alright. But it's a good idea to tell me while it's still fresh in your mind, rather than waiting."  
He walked up the stairs to his room and left the door open a crack. Hermione's thoughts were going back and forth in her mind. _'Should I tell him?'_ This was the last thing she was thinking before she fell into a fitful sleep.

*********  
_DING DONG!_

Hermione jumped and looked around before frowning and sending a few curse words in the direction of the clock. She had fallen asleep a little over an hour but it only felt like a few minutes. Her body ached and she suddenly remembered why. She also remembered how she got back to the dorm. Draco. He wanted to know what happened. She looked towards his room and found that his door was still open a bit. Deciding that he had a right to know, she slowly forced herself to climb up the stairs and through his door. She took a deep breath at the sight of his room, dark and almost sinister, but it had this innocence about it that she couldn't place. Green snakes were carved into the sides of the walls, creating an almost scary presence. She hesitated at first, afraid that if she went in, she would be cursed and hexed until she couldn't breath. Looking around the room once more, she saw the outline of Draco's sleeping form. Shaking off the feelings of possibly being killed by walking into this room, she staggered over to the bed. She slowly sat down on the edge, pain ripping through her body, relieved that she wouldn't have to walk anymore for a while.

Draco stirred slightly; awaken by the sudden movement on his bed. _'What the hell is going on?'_  
When he saw Hermione's hair he shot up. "Hey." He whispered.  
At the sudden noise, Hermione jumped then groaned in pain, holding on to the side of the bed for support.  
"Don't do that!" Hermione squealed.  
"Sorry. I didn't expect you to come in here. What are you doing in here anyway?"  
"You said you wanted me to talk about what happened…"  
"Yeah, but I didn't actually think that you would listen. Since when does Hermione Granger need advice?"  
"Since she found out what a crutacious curse feels like."

The silence that passed between them was crushing. Draco almost didn't believe her, but then again the signs were all there. He reached over and gently grabbed her arms.  
"What are you doing?" she asked, panicked.  
"Relax." He whispered.  
He pulled her back gently so that she was leaning up against his pillows. He looked down at her and something shot through his body. He was angry, but he couldn't exactly figure out why. He forced himself to look away and swallowed back the tears that threatened to flow. Running his hands in his hair, he stared at the wall. What were these feelings rushing through him? Did he actually care that someone had used crucio on her?  
_'Yes! You care Draco! Admit it you git! You care about her!'_

"Draco?"  
He didn't stir. He just sat there, staring at the wall. Hermione was getting worried that Draco was having second thoughts about her. She didn't know if telling him was a good idea after all.  
"Maybe I should go…"  
"Who did it?" he said suddenly.  
"What?"  
Draco turned around and looked Hermione in the eyes. Slowly and carefully he repeated his words.  
"Who did it, Hermione?"  
Hermione hesitated, she didn't want to get Ron in trouble, but then again, he would get what he deserved. She should probably just tell McGonagall about what happened. Right?  
"It's not important, Draco."  
"Don't give me that! I want to know who did this to you Hermione! WHO DID IT?!"

Frightened by his sudden outburst, she backed away from him. She couldn't go far without falling off the bed, but she didn't want to get hit again. Realization flushed through her body and more tears slowly came out. Draco cursed at himself mentally. _'Damn it.'_ He thought. He took hold of Hermione's arm and, against her protests, pulled her close to him and held her in his arms.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm sorry, Hermione."  
They sat there for a moment, lost in each other's world. Hermione had stopped crying a little and she felt almost content in his arms, but she knew she would have to face reality soon enough. _'How do I tell him what happened?'_ she thought. But he spoke before she could think more on the subject.  
"Look, you don't have to tell me right now if you don't want too, but I really would like to know. I care about you, Hermione. It's eating me up inside that someone could do that to you."  
"Why do you care?"  
"What do you mean why do I care? Why wouldn't I?"  
"I'm a Mudblood, remember? Purebloods like you hate Mudbloods. You've made that perfectly clear the past five years."

Draco pulled away from Hermione a bit and looked down at her.  
"Everything that I've done tonight, and what I've said to you the past few days mean nothing?"  
Hermione just sat and looked at him, she could see anger and shock welling in his eyes and she wanted to pull away. But she stayed, somehow knowing that he wouldn't hurt her.  
"I thought that you would be the one person to believe me. All of these damn feelings that I have for you won't go away and you can just sit there and tell me that you only think I'm doing this for fun?"  
Hermione opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"I know you didn't say it out loud, but I'm sure that's what you're thinking. Damn it, Hermione! I told you I had changed and these feelings prove it. I've never felt this way about anybody!"  
"Draco, those feelings are just tricks. You can't possibly feel that way about me."  
"Tell me then."  
"Tell you what?"  
"Tell me you don't feel the same way. Tell me that when we're close, when I'm holding you, you don't feel better, that you don't feel like you've finally found something in you're life worth holding onto. Tell me that and I'll leave you alone."

They stared at each other for a minute. Hermione didn't know what to say. Of course she felt that way, she couldn't pin the feelings, but they were there. 'Don't screw this up, Hermione.' She thought. She gave Draco a small smile and raised her hands behind his head. She winced a little, the pain from the curse still coursing over her body, but she rested her hands on the back of his neck and pulled him closer. It was as if the world stopped at that very moment. Sparks flew through each of them as they kissed in earnest. Hermione loved the way that Draco kissed her, and he knew it. Slowly and passionately, he kissed her until she finally pulled away and buried her head into his chest. She tugged on him, and he laughed silently as he pulled her closer to his body. She smiled and they quickly fell asleep peacefully for the first time in days.

*********  
The next few weeks were stressful but Hermione had managed to pull through. She still hadn't told Draco about Ron, and she intended on keeping it that way. Harry though, had noticed a change in the way Hermione acted. She would never stay with him when Ron was around and she was always leaving early to go to the library or to her dorm after meals. Her behavior was becoming more and more odd, she barely even talked to Harry anymore! Walking down the corridor going to Transfiguration, Harry saw Hermione resting against a tall pillar, obviously waiting for someone.

"Hey, Hermione."  
"Harry! What are you doing here?"  
"On my way to Transfiguration. Want to walk with me?"  
"Uhm…" Hermione looked around and shook her head. "I'm actually waiting for someone. But I'll see you in class."

Getting a confused and awkward look on his face, Harry didn't move.  
"Hermione, is something wrong?"  
"What do you mean? Everything's fine."  
"No, it's not. You're never around, you always leave early at meals, and you always seem to disappear when Ron shows up. Is it something I did or said?"  
"Harry, no, it's not you."  
"Then what is it? I can't take not seeing my best friend and if something is bothering you, I want to know."

Hermione sighed and placed her books and bag on the ground. She folded her arms across her chest and tried to hug herself, a look on her face that showed she was thinking hard. Harry walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and he smiled.

"You can trust me, Hermione."  
Hermione smiled and nodded. She took a deep breath.  
"It's Ron."  
"Ron? What'd he do?"  
"Well, it's actually a long story."  
"I'm waiting."  
Hermione sighed again and told Harry the entire story, how she was walking the halls and how Ron had hid himself under Harry's invisibility cloak. When she was finished, Harry had a far off look on his face. Hermione was afraid that he didn't believe her, until he grabbed her and pulled her into a tight and constricting hug.

"Harry!"  
"Hermione, I'm so sorry. I had no idea! If I had known what he was going to do, I wouldn't have let him borrow my cloak."  
"Harry, Harry, its okay." She said patting him on the back. "It's not your fault."  
Releasing her, Harry had begun to cry a little.  
"Harry, don't cry. I'm fine."  
"I don't understand why Ron would do that to you."  
"He doesn't want me talking to Draco. He made this big deal about it when he hit me."  
"What did Draco say about all this?"  
"Well…I haven't told him."  
"Hermione!"  
"Oh, Harry, please don't tell! I don't know what Draco would do, but I don't want to find out. I'll tell him eventually, just give me some time to think it out!"

Harry looked at her and nodded his head.  
"I'll see you in class. I'll save a seat for you."  
Before he turned around to leave and noticed Draco walking over to them.  
"And for Malfoy." Then he turned and walked away.

Transfiguration was extremely boring. Everyone in class was talking about Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy suddenly talking and being civil to each other, while Ron sat on the other side of the room with a sour look on his face. Other than the talk and the rumors going around, it was the same old boring class, with only Hermione raising her hand and answering every question. No one would guess what would happen afterwards.

*********  
"So I'll meet you by the lake after I get this paperwork out of the way."  
"Ugh, why do you always have to do favors for that damn librarian? She's just bitchy and mean…and old."  
Draco was holding Hermione next to the library door, not wanting to let her go. _'Why does she always have to do that old broads' paperwork anyway? It's not like it has anything to do with her.'_  
"Draco, I do it because then I get into the Restricted Section no questions asked. And that's really helpful for Harry."  
Draco sighed. "Alright, fine."  
Hermione smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you later."  
"What? I only get a cheek kiss? Someone with my handsome face should get a little more then that."  
Hermione turned around and giggled quietly. "I said I'll see you later."

And with that she walked into the library and closed the door. Draco smirked and walked down the long hallway leading to the lake. He was thinking about how his life had changed dramatically, when someone bumped into him and almost knocked him over. Stumbling back, Draco looked over and scowled.

"Watch where you're going, Weasley."  
"Shut up, Malfoy."  
"Oh, good comeback. If I were you, I would go find a book that could help with these kind of things."  
"If you were me, you would know what happened with Hermione."  
Draco's smirk suddenly fell. Ron smiled smugly and started to walk away.  
"Where do you think you're going, Weasley?"  
"Away from you."  
"Don't think so."

Draco walked up to Ron and, with his face inches away, spoke harshly. "What do you know about what happened to Hermione?"  
Ron's smile stayed planted on his face.  
"What do I know about it? Let me tell you a little secret, Malfoy."  
Ron leaned in close and whispered in his ear.  
"I did it."

In a matter of seconds you wouldn't be able to tell where Ron began and Draco ended. Rage had flooded Draco's entire body and he didn't hold back from letting it all out on Ron. He threw him against the wall, kicked him in the side, threw him against the other wall and slammed him into the floor when he tried to get up. Ron's wand had fallen out of his hand and rolled down to the end of the hallway, where Harry picked it up. Confused Harry looked down the hallway and stopped short. Draco. Ron. Fighting. Bolting down to the library, Harry slammed open the doors.

"HERMIONE!"  
Both Hermione and the librarian jumped at the sound of Harry's voice.  
"Young man, keep your voice down!"  
Harry ignored her and ran over to Hermione, grabbing her arm and pulling her out of the library and down the hallway.  
"Harry, what are you doing?! Have you gone mad?"  
"Draco and Ron. Fighting in the hall! Hurry up!"

Harry never released his grasp on Hermione's arm. When they got to the end of the corridor, it was filled with a circle of students, all cheering and gasping at what was going on in the middle of them. Harry pushed his way through, with Hermione right behind him. What Hermione saw almost made her sick. Ron was trying to crawl away from Draco, blood coming out of his nose and mouth. Was he crying? Hermione couldn't tell. She watched in horror as Draco's anger continued to blast down on Ron. Why was he doing this? She looked at Harry and she pulled his head down so that her mouth was level with his ear.

"Ow!"  
"What did you tell Draco?"  
"I didn't tell him anything! I swear! I haven't seen him since you told me except in classes."  
Hermione let go of Harry and looked back onto the fight that was happening right in front of her. Draco was screaming at Ron, holding him by his shirt with a fist in front of his face, ready to hit again. Ron was barely moving, but you could see the terror in his eyes.

"DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN, YOU UNDERSTAND ME?! DON'T YOU LAY ANOTHER FILTHY HAND ON HER EVER!"  
"Draco! Stop!"  
"Hermione, don't!"  
Ignoring Harry's warning, Hermione slowly went over to Draco and Ron. She looked into Draco's eyes and what saw her scared her out of her wits. His eyes were no longer the electric blue and silver that she had come to love, but they were dark gray and cloudy, unreadable. His face softened a little when he heard her voice, but he kept his strong hold on Ron, not taking his gaze off of him.

"Draco, please. Let go of him. There's no more that you can do about this."  
"Why didn't you tell me?"  
"Because this is what I was afraid would happen. Draco, let go of him."  
Draco finally took his gaze off Ron and stared at Hermione. He threw Ron to the ground and brushed his hands off on his robes. Tears were welling in his eyes and he turned away from the crowd of people.  
"Draco, why would you go and hurt someone like that when you know that it wouldn't help anything?"  
"I don't know what you're talking about." He said calmly, forcing the tears down. "I feel great."  
His smirk threw Hermione off guard and she gave him a tiny smile and rested a hand on his arm.  
"I never went out with Ron because of his inability to control his anger. Please Draco, can you tell me that this won't happen again?"

Pulling her into a hug, he wrapped his arms tightly around her.  
"I promise."  
**  
*******


	6. Escape

Ron was in the Hospital Wing for the next three weeks. He had various broken bones and bruises. Harry had been the only one to visit him. News of what had happened between him and Hermione had gotten around the school fast, and Ron was looking at his final days at Hogwarts. But what was even more interesting, was news of how Draco Malfoy had defended Hermione Granger. That had seemed to have gotten around even faster. Soon, almost everyone had their own version of the story, making Draco laugh and Hermione shake her head.

The only good part about people talking about them was that things couldn't get much worse. They could finally hang around together in public. With the occasional glare from a disappointed Gryffindor and a disgusted Slytherin, Draco and Hermione spent most of their time with each other, or with Harry and Ginny (who had started seeing each other a few weeks before).

"This is disgusting. Watching them talk to each other like they were equals."  
"Just get over it Pansy."  
Blaise had heard almost every insult in the book from Pansy about Hermione, and he had enough.  
"I won't. I'm not going to allow my boyfriend to hang around with that filth."  
"Pansy! He isn't your boyfriend! He never was your boyfriend and he'll never be your boyfriend! When are you going to get that through your thick head?!"

Pansy watched in shock as Blaise walked toward Draco, with Crabbe and Goyle following behind.  
"Where do you think you two are going?!"  
"We're not listening to you, you witch." Crabbe shouted.  
Pansy screamed and stomped away in fury, trying to form a full-proof plan in her mind.

"Draco!"  
Draco turned his head away from his new group to see Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle coming towards them. He stood up, making Hermione look up at him, and made his way over in their general direction.  
"Yeah?"  
"How're things?" Crabbe asked.  
Draco looked at the three of them questioningly.  
"How're things?"  
"Yeah, how're things?"  
"Why would you ask me that, Crabbe? Do you think things are great? Do you think I'm happy and fine? What do you bloody think, Crabbe? If you think at all!"

Crabbe had backed away and almost shrunk down in size as Draco advanced on him. Draco was clearly angry at Crabbe and Goyle for following Pansy around for the past few weeks. Blaise shot Crabbe a warning glare for the next time he decided to open his mouth and began talking a quick cover.  
"Relax, Draco."  
"They following you around now?"  
"Yeah. No big."  
"Everything is big about these two."  
Draco turned around and sat back down next to Hermione, who was laughing with Harry and Ginny. Noticing that he had returned, she looked up at the three, who looked at each other curiously. Deciding that they probably had no where else to go, she looked to Draco who shrugged his shoulders.

"Would you guys like to join us?"  
The three smiled and they sat near the circle of friends. Groups of students walked by astonished, whispering as they past quickly. After another hour or so, Draco leaned in and whispered into Hermione's ear.

"Want to get out of here?"  
She looked at him quickly and whispered back.  
"And go where, may I ask?"  
"I don't know. Back to the dorm? Somewhere away from all these people."  
Draco had begun kissing her ear and neck lightly, making her gasp quietly.  
"Alright, alright. Stop that."

Draco smirked and stared at her. She looked around and stood up, with Draco following.  
"Where you guys going?" Harry asked.  
"Draco and I have to meet up with Professor McGonagall to discuss some Prefect matters. We'll see you guys at dinner."  
"Okay, see you later."

After everyone said their goodbyes, Draco and Hermione slowly walked up to their common room and plopped onto the couch. Draco started the fire in the fireplace and laid his head back against the couch. Hermione sat next to him and adjusted herself so that her head was resting in his lap. He looked down for a moment, and smirked.

"Yes? Anything I can help you with?"  
"What are you thinking about?"  
"What kind of a question is that?"  
"A very good one. Now answer it."  
"For someone who wants an answer, you're being a little rude."

Hermione smiled and looked up at Draco. She could only see his chin so she reached up and pulled his head so he was looking down at her.  
"Then I guess I'm acting just like you. Now answer."  
Draco chuckled. "You don't want to know what I'm thinking about."  
"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."  
"Well, let's pretend that you didn't ask and end this conversation."

Sitting up, Hermione frowned.  
"Don't give me that look. I invented that look and it doesn't work on me."  
Hermione smiled and moved across Draco so that she was sitting on him with her legs on either side of him. Draco looked up at her and smirked.

"More like me everyday, aren't we Granger?"  
She rolled her eyes and pulled Draco into a kiss. He pulled away and stared at her for a minute.

"What's the matter?"  
"Nothing. What was that for?"  
"Do I need a reason?"  
Draco smirked. "No."

They went back and forth like that for hours. Kissing, arguing, and kissing again. Though neither of them seemed to mind. The kisses, as harmful and innocent as they seemed, had begun turning into needy, passionate ones. Draco roughly kissed Hermione, but Hermione did the same. They didn't realize what all that might turn into until the next morning, when they woke up in Draco's room, huddling with each other under the covers for warmth.

*****  
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!"  
"Mum..."  
"HONESTLY, RONALD! Of all the people you could hit, you hit Harry! Your best friend!"  
"Mum…"  
"AND THEN! You use a CRUTACIOUS on Hermione?! How could you?! That poor, sweet girl has been nothing but nice and kind to you!"  
"Mum…"  
"And now this fight with Draco Malfoy! What are we going to do with you Ronald Bilis Weasley?"  
"Mum, stop! I have my reasons."  
"There is NO reason, at all, for using an Unforgivable on one of your friends. On anyone for that matter. Your father and I raised you better!"  
"I don't want to hear this Mum."  
"Well, that's just too bad isn't it? You're lucky Hermione's parents aren't doing anything legal about this. You're lucky the school is letting you continue your education at home for the rest of the term."  
"Well then! I'M JUST A LUCKY GUY, AREN'T I?!"  
"Don't raise your voice to me, young man."  
"DON'T TALK TO ME! I can't stand everyone thinking that Hermione and Malfoy are not a problem! MALFOY?! What in bloody hell are you people thinking?!"

With that Ron ran up the stairs of the Burrow and slammed his bedroom door shut. Molly Weasley still stood in the kitchen, her face red and her anger subsiding. What had gone wrong with him? She made herself busy cleaning and making tea to try and get her mind off of Ron for a while, when she heard an ominous boom come from upstairs. She raced up the stairs, only to find Ron's door closed and smoke coming out from underneath it. Opening the door, she gasped and ran back down the stairs to call Arthur on the floo network.

*****  
The sun shone through the stain-glass windows, shimmering green and yellow light across the room. Draco woke slowly, wincing at the light and silently cursing the sun. He had gone in and out of sleep for the past few hours, thoughts of everything that had happened to him rushing through his mind. He smiled down at the sleeping body huddled in his arms. The memories of the night before flowed through his mind. Him. Hermione. Kissing. Touching. Her body crushing against his. Her skin was so soft. Draco couldn't have been happier. Just as soon as he thought about this, an owl appeared at his window. Tapping and scratching at it. Carefully moving Hermione so she wouldn't wake, he went over to the window and opened it.

"Shut it, you lousy bird."  
The black owl squawked loudly and stuck its leg out to Draco.

"Be quiet, damn it!"  
He untied the letter and ripped it open, scanning over the words that his mother had written.

_My Dear Son,  
I hope you're doing well in school this term. You know how much it would mean to me if you got the rest of your grades up in something other than potions._

Draco rolled his eyes at this.

_I got the letter you sent me two weeks ago. About that girl. I'm very happy for you, Draco. Though I am surprised that she is a Muggle. That is actually why I'm writing. You're father has escaped Azkaban today, with the help of the Dark Lord. He wants to come and get you so you may receive the Dark Mark. Don't worry too much, I have persuaded him to wait until the school year is over.  
Take extra care of her, Draco. If your father was to find out, I don't know what might happen. You must protect her. Take care and I'll see you at Christmas._

Love,  
Mother

Frustration swept over Draco quickly. Why did his father have to escape now? Of all times! He crumpled up the letter and threw it on the floor. Taking out his wand, he pointed it at the letter.

"Incendio."

The letter burst into flames, causing the owl to squawk loudly and fly out of the room through the window.  
"Damn bird." He said under his breath. He looked at the burning letter once more and kicked the table in anger.

"Aguamenti." The command was spoken softly from behind him. Draco sighed and rested his hands on his head.

"I didn't mean to wake you up."  
Hermione was sitting up in the bed with the blankets wrapped around her.

"No, you planned on burning the room down."  
He turned and gave her a small smile. Hermione frowned and scooted over.

"Come here."  
Draco walked over and lay down on the bed next to Hermione. She lay down next to him and ran her fingers through his hair. Draco closed his eyes and put his arms around Hermione, bringing her closer.

"What did your mother say?" she asked.  
He opened his eyes and looked at her questioningly.

"I saw the address on the envelope."

Draco groaned and threw a pillow over his head and screamed.

"Draco! Calm down! It can't be that bad."

Draco ripped the pillow away from his face and stared at her intently. She smiled at him and rubbed his cheek with her hand, wiping his tears away.

"What's the matter?"

He was silent for a moment, before reaching his hand up to touch hers and sighed.

"My father…has escaped Azkaban. With the help of the Dark Lord."

Hermione's smile faded and she looked at him seriously. He closed his eyes and continued to talk.

"His plan was to come and take me out of school. So I could receive the Dark Mark. Thankfully, though, my mother suggested that he wait until the summer. I, at least, don't have to worry about it 'til then."

"You're not going to take it, are you?"

"Hermione." he looked into her eyes. She was almost pleading with him, begging him not too. He sighed and pulled her close.

"What choice do I have? If I don't take it, then I'm putting my family at risk, and when I say my family I mean my mother. If I do take it, you're going to hate me forever. Aren't you?"

"Well…I'm not going to be very happy."

Draco looked at her and waited for her to continue. When she didn't he ran his hands over her body and took a deep breath.

"But?"

"But, it's your mother. And I guess that if getting the Dark Mark keeps her safe and out of harms way, then that's what you have to do."

Draco smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I knew you would understand. You do realize that I don't want it at all, right?"

"Yeah…I know."

The room was consumed by silence. Draco couldn't stop thinking about his father. Of course the Dark Lord would break him out; it was only a matter of time before it happened. His father was his best Death Eater. The best in the 'business' you could say. Draco scowled at this thought and tried to burn it out of his mind. He would be coming for him, he knew it. He looked to Hermione and fear swept through him. What would happen if Lucius found out about her? Draco shuddered at the thought but he knew he couldn't keep it from him for long.

_'But I'm going to sure as hell try.'_

*****  
"Why are you here?"

"I need your help."

"Why would you need my help?" Pansy asked.

She had been sitting by herself in the Slytherin common room, something she does most often these days, when a mysterious figure caught her attention.

"Because you hate the situation as much as I do. Together, we can tear them apart. Piece by piece. Until there's nothing left."

"I don't know what you're talking about. What situation? Tear who apart?"

"Don't play stupid with me, Parkinson. Don't you want your precious Draco back?"

Pansy gasped at the sound of Draco's name and stared hard at the figure. How did this person know that she wanted Draco for herself and away from that Mudblood? Thinking about everything the man offered, a sly smile crept onto her face. The man laughed a light, menacing laugh.

"We have a deal?" He spoke calmly.

She looked at the figure and grinned.

"Deal."

*****  
Harry and Hermione were walking the halls together, spending some much needed time with each other. Harry couldn't help but notice a certain glow about her, it radiated off and seemed to bring a calm happiness to everything it touched.

"Why are you so happy?" he asked smiling.

"Everything's just been going really well the past few weeks."

"Things are going well with Draco then, I assume?"

Hermione blushed and smiled.

"Very well." She replied.

Harry nodded, apparently understanding that that's all he was going to get out of her. He figured that he didn't really want to know anymore. He stopped though, when she got this far off look in her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, you sort of reminded me of something that I was going to tell you."

"Okay? What is it?"

"Harry, Lucius escaped this morning."

Harry's eyes grew wide and filled with hate.

"How?!"

"Voldemort…" she said quietly.  
Fear and anger struck Harry's heart. The worst that could be expected had happened. And it could only get worse from here. Nothing could be said about what Voldemort would do now that he had his best man back working for him.

"I need to tell McGonagall."

Hermione nodded and watched as Harry went off, running, towards the Headmaster's office. She turned once Harry was out of sight, and continued walking down the hall. Thoughts consumed her mind and she suddenly began to worry about Ron.

_'Don't worry about that arse. He almost killed you with that curse, he's none of your concern now.'_

But still, she couldn't help but wonder how he was doing. He had never acted out like that before. Towards anyone! Punching Harry, attacking her, getting into a devastating fight with Draco. It just didn't make any sense. With that thought in her mind, she figured she'd floo Mrs. Weasley, just to make sure all was well.

*****


	7. Captured

_Mother,  
I have no intention of failing my classes this year. Things have been easier for me and I guess you can give the credit to 'her'. I still don't understand why you won't just turn father in and end this nightmare. He's destroying my life and he's practically destroyed yours. It would make us both happier. Don't worry too much about her, Mother. I won't let anything happen to her. She means more than the world to me. And with that being said, I do have a request. Go into hiding. Far away from father. Just get out. I have decided that he's no longer going to rule my life and I am not taking the Dark Mark. Mr. Lupin and cousin Nymphadora are going to take you in. Do this for me, Mother.  
See you at Christmas._

Love, Draco

Shakily, Draco folded his letter and put it in an envelope. This letter was a big risk if his father got this before his mother. He tied the letter onto a small, raven colored owl's leg tightly and stroked its feathers.

"Don't let anyone take this except for Narcissa Malfoy. Understand?"

The owl hooted approvingly, proud that it was being given an important job, and flew away. Watching the owl get smaller and smaller, Draco breathed slowly. His attention snapped away from the bird when he saw a dark figure moving across the grounds into the Hogwarts building. Looking closer, he still couldn't make out the mysterious figure. Curiosity swept over him and he quickly made his way out of the owlry and down the many stairs into the Great Hall. Looking around, he saw nothing but only a few wandering students.

_'Strange,'_ he thought. _'I could have sworn I saw it come through this way.'_ Deciding not to worry too much about it, that it was probably just his imagination, he began wandering the halls himself, hoping that he would run into Hermione.

*********  
Hermione's nerves were building up inside her. She hadn't been able to contact Mrs. Weasley. The thought that she wasn't home had crossed her mind, but the simple fact that Ron had been sent home for the rest of the term and that Mrs. Weasley didn't work gave Hermione cause to worry. Thinking that she would try again later, she sat down on the common rooms couch and stared into the fire. She didn't know what to do with herself.

_BANG!_  
Jumping at the sudden sound, Hermione looked in the direction from where it came. Her room. Fear washed over her quickly. With the news of Lucius Malfoy out of Azkaban, she didn't know what to expect anymore. _'That blasted Voldemort certainly keeps you on your toes.'_ She thought. She grabbed her wand and cautiously made her way up the stairs to her room. Taking a deep breath she slowly pushed open the door, her wand passing through the frame first.

"Lumos." She whispered.

The small light emitted from her wand set off a gentle glow, allowing her to see Ginny wrapped in her blankets on her bed. Confused, Hermione turned on the lights in the room and looked at Ginny carefully. She was sitting on her bed, pulling the blankets closer to her, and rocking gently back and forth. Sighing a breath of relief she put her wand down.

"Nox." She said quietly. Walking over to her bed, she sat down next to Ginny and pulled some of the blankets off of her. Ginny looked cautiously around. When her eyes caught sight of Hermione, she practically threw herself onto her. Giving Ginny light pats on the back, trying to calm her down; Hermione's mind was a whirlwind of questions.  
"Ginny, what's the matter?"

"My – my dad…"  
Eyes growing wide, Hermione stared at Ginny, waiting for her to continue.  
"They don't know where he is. He…went to work…and never came home. And it happened yesterday…when Ron escaped from the house."  
"Ron escaped from the burrow?"

Ginny nodded her head and brought her knees up to her chest. Hermione gave her a small hug of comfort and whispered to her.  
"Everything will be alright, Ginny. You'll see. Until then, you're welcome to stay here with me."

Smiling slightly, Ginny laid herself down on Hermione's bed and closed her eyes. Walking out and closing her door silently, Hermione quickly charmed her room with protection spells. _'I'm not taking any chances.'_ Making her way down the stairs she stopped when she saw a tiny bird sitting on the table in front of the fire.

"'ello!"  
Hermione jumped at the bird's unexpected words and stared at it confused.

"Um, hello?"  
"I 'ave a message for you."  
"Alright…"  
"You're to go to the 'eadmasters office immediately. And take me with you."  
Processing the information in her head, she quickly bent down to pick up the bird, which hopped onto her finger, and walked out into the hall, quietly shutting the portrait door behind her.

*********  
"Where did you hear this from, Mr. Potter?"  
"Hermione told me."  
"Are you positive that this is true?"  
"It has to be! Hermione told me that Dracos' mother sent him a letter this morning, telling him that Lucius had escaped prison because Voldemort broke him out somehow!"  
"Calm down, Mr. Potter. We'll be able to figure this out easier when arrives."  
"What? Why did you call her down? She has too much on her mind to be coming down here!"  
"Sit down, Mr. Potter! I don't have the patience for this."

Defeated, Harry sat down; his anger and worry boiling over the edge. They sat in silence for a while, with nothing but the sound of McGonagall's quill running over one parchment after another. The sound became extremely annoying after a while. Harry was praying that Hermione would walk through the door soon. His eyes wandered over to the door as it slowly opened. But to his surprise, it wasn't Hermione, but Ginny and a small bird.

"Ms. Weasley? What are you doing here? And why do you have Septimus?"

The bird looked up when he heard his name and he flew over to McGonagall. Harry looked back and forth from Ginny to McGonagall and her bird. Harry cleared his throat, which caused the headmaster to look over.

"What's going on, Professor?"  
"Mr. Potter, I sent Septimus here to get Ms. Granger for me. He is sort of like Dumbledore's bird, Fawkes."

Harry smiled as the memory of the bird flew into his mind. He had always loved that bird, but he never got to see it again after Dumbledore passed because it somehow just disappeared. But new questions were arising and he looked again to Ginny.

"Ginny. Where's Hermione?"

Ginny never looked up from the floor.  
"I don't know."  
McGonagall set Septimus on the table and sat behind her desk.  
"Septimus, if you would please explain what happened."

"I went down to retrieve Ms. Granger, just like you told me. I waited for 'er to come downstairs from 'er room and when she did, I said, 'ello, I 'ave a message for you. You're to go to the 'eadmasters office straight away.' That's what I said. And so we started comin' down 'ere. But she 'eard a noise coming from one of them empty corridors. I told 'er not to go down it an' to let Filch deal wit' it, but she's a persistent one, she is. So we went down to investigate, when this person just came out of nowhere and grabbed her! She was screamin' an' such, but he was too strong for 'er I guess. I saw some red hair under that cape of his he was wearin', I did. So I flew back up to her room and got Ms. Weasley over there to help. But when we got there, Ms. Granger an' that man was gone, so we came up 'ere."

There was nothing but silence over the next few minutes as realization swept over Harry. Without another word he ran out of McGonagall's office and down into the hallway. Looking around, he saw no one. He pulled out a folded piece of parchment. He pointed his wand down at it and looked around one more time.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."  
The Marauder's Map slowly appeared and Harry let his eyes sweep back and forth over it. When he finally found the name he was looking for, he took a deep breath.  
"Mischief managed."

The writings disappeared and he folded and put the map back into his pocket. Running down the hall, thoughts of where Hermione could be raced in his mind. Thoughts of her being tortured and in pain washed through him, and he slammed right into someone coming around the corner.

"Bloody hell, Potter! What's your problem?!"

Harry groaned and rolled onto his back. Reaching around for his glasses, he felt a hand grab his arm and pull him to his feet.  
"Thanks."  
"Yeah, whatever. Want to explain how this little collision occurred?"  
Putting his glasses on, his eyesight came into focus with the blonde haired Slytherin. Running his hands over his messy hair, he collected his thoughts.

"I was looking for you, actually."  
"Well, you found me. So tell me what you need too, because I need to talk to Hermione."  
"Draco, that's the problem."  
"What do you mean, 'that's the problem?'. Why would it be a problem?"

Draco's voice had become panicky, and his face was slightly worry stricken. Though Harry knew Hermione and Draco were very close, it still surprised him how loving Draco was actually being. Those thoughts aside, he closed his eyes and tried to keep himself breathing.

"She's not here."  
"Not here?"  
"Yeah."  
"What the bloody hell do you mean, Potter?"  
"She's gone, Draco. Someone…took her away."  
"But…"

Draco stopped short as his thoughts whizzed in his brain. He stared at Harry and then ran down the hall towards the common room. With Harry right behind him, he raced into Hermione's room and stopped. He looked around the room with tear-stained eyes. He failed. He had promised himself he wouldn't let anything happen to her, and now look what happened. She was gone. Someone took her right out from under his nose. _'But who could do that? No one can apparate to or from Hogwarts grounds…' _

"Harry!"  
"What Draco? What is it?"  
"We need to go to my house."  
"What? Are you crazy? Your bloody father just escaped and is probably hiding out there with his Voldemort posse. I may be reckless Malfoy, but I'm not stupid."

"Potter, you're more stupid than you think. Hermione is there. I just know it. And if you're too much of a coward to come, then I'm going by myself."

"Malfoy, don't. Understand something. You're just as much as an enemy to Voldemort and your father as I am. You've chose your side when you started this with Hermione, and you know it. Are you mentally strong enough to finally stand up to him for her?"

Draco thought this over and suddenly, his courage diminished. He sat down on Hermione's bed and put his head into his hands. Harry was right. He couldn't stand up to his father, he wasn't mentally prepared for the Occlumency that would be performed on him, and he wasn't physically strong enough to handle whatever his father would throw at him. But he couldn't let him just take Hermione out from under him. Worries aside, he took a deep breath, grabbed his wand, and walked into the common room. Harry stood at the top of the stairs and watched as Draco made a ring around himself.

"Are you coming? Or are you going to just watch as I leave, Potter?"

A look of bewilderment flashed on Harry's face as that famous Malfoy smirk crossed over Draco's face. Harry walked down the stairs and into the glowing circle that Draco had created. Gripping his wand tightly, Harry felt the world around him shake. Everything was a blur and the only thing that he could see clearly was Draco. Lights flashed and he could no longer see the common room. Then suddenly, it was gone. The lights stopped and everything stopped moving. His eyes focused more and he looked around the room that they had appeared in.

It was a small, dark room. Green, of course. A small four poster bed was in the center against one of the walls, with just a small side table next to it. There was only one window, and as Harry looked out of it, he could only see the misty, lonely graveyard of Hogsmeade. A flickering light made Harry jump. He pointed his wand nervously in the direction of the movement, but halted. Draco had turned on a small lamp, and he was staring at Harry with wide eyes.

"Prefer the dark, did we?"  
"N-no. Sorry. You startled me."  
Draco shrugged his shoulders. "It happens."

Lowering his wand, Harry walked over to where Draco was sitting and sat next to him.  
"So, what do we do now?"  
"We wait."  
"Wait for what?"  
"Mr. Weasley, of course."


	8. Truths

"Mr. Weasley? You mean Ron?"

Draco snickered and shook his head.

"Why don't you just tell me what the weaselette and the bird saw?"

A few minutes went by with Harry repeating what Septimus told them, followed by a long silence as Draco processed the story in his head.

"You said the bird talked about a dark figure?"  
"Yeah, apparently, that's the one that caught Hermione and took her away."  
"I saw someone in a black cloak walking into the school earlier. But when I got downstairs, it was gone."  
"But the bird also said he saw red hair under the hood."  
"Which is obvious."  
"What do you mean? Do you think it was Ron?"  
"No. I don't."

Harry gave him a curious look and watched as Draco headed into the connecting room. He followed and was amazed. There were books lining the walls all around the room. A small fire was going, along with two big chairs in the center of the room. Walking over to the side of the wall, Harry picked up a book and glanced at the cover. Human Terminology. Harry furrowed his brow and looked over to Draco.

"Umm…"  
"What?"  
"Human Terminology? This is a muggle book."  
"Your point?"  
"Why would you, of all people, have this book? Something from the muggle world?"  
"Because, Potter, I happen to find that things from the muggle world are not as pointless as my father had gotten me to believe."

Shrugging his shoulders, he placed the book back onto the shelf and wandered over to one of the chairs. He plopped down and stared into the fire. He occasionally looked over at Draco, who was sitting in the opposite chair, playing hastily with his wand. The silence was soon broken. They both jumped when they heard a loud bang and a scream from down the hall.

*****  
The room was cold and dark. She could feel the moisture of the air on her skin. Where was she? Her body ached and she could no longer find the energy to move her limbs. Slowly opening her eyes, she couldn't see much. As her eyes adjusted to what little light was in the room, she noticed that there was a small bed in the room. Groaning as she moved her arms to pick herself up off the ground, she made her way over to it, thinking that it was better than staying on the cold, wet ground. The bed wasn't any better, and she was wondering why she was suddenly confined to this small room. Her thoughts were cut short when she heard a key turning in the lock. With wide eyes, she kept her focus on the door as it slowly opened. She gasped and took a sharp intake of breath. Confusion was the only emotion she could feel at the moment, yet she was glad it wasn't someone else.

"Mr. Weasley?"

Looking over to the direction that the meek voice came from, Mr. Arthur Weasley smiled slightly and nodded at Hermione.

"Hello Hermione, dear."  
"Wha-what are you doing here?"  
"Well, same reason you are, I suppose. How are you feeling?"  
"I-I'm a little sore but I'm fine nonetheless."  
"Hmm, yes. That drug did hit you a tick harder than I would've liked."  
"Drug?"  
"Yes, dear. A drug. To make you pass out. Seems kind of vile when I put it like that, but I'm afraid this is not a comfortable situation."  
"I'm not sure that I understand."  
"There will be things in this world that you won't always understand Ms. Granger."

Hermione flinched at the sound of her surname. Mr. Weasley had never used her surname when talking to her. Ever. Something was off about him, but he couldn't place her finger on it. But she was thankful that he was here.

"How did you get in here, Mr. Weasley?"

Arthur raised his eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. He pointed his finger towards the door, and talked to her as if he was talking to a four year old.

"Right through that door."

Hermione opened and closed her mouth and stared at Mr. Weasley like he had three heads.

"You mean, you just walked in past all those people out there? Is this the new place for the Order? What's going on?"  
"Always the one to ask so many questions. My dear, I'm afraid this is going to come as a shock to you, but this is not the new place for the Order. We're at Malfoy Manor, and you are going to soon be in the presence of one Mr. Lucius Malfoy."  
"Malfoy Manor?! Why would you bring me here?! Mr. Weasley, I don't understand! Why am I here? Why did you…of all people?"  
"Hush now. Get some rest. It's going to be a long day if your energy is depleted."

Millions of questions were running through Hermione's mind. Why would Mr. Weasley bring her here? Did Mrs. Weasley know where he was and what he was doing? Hermione couldn't get the questions out of her head and knew that she wasn't going to get out of this place any time soon. She could only hope that Harry, Draco, or someone would find her.

Time passed slowly in that tiny room. She was frustrated that she didn't have her wand, at least then she could conjure up a book to read, or even find a way out. The only thing that she could do was doze off. After about six hours from Mr. Weasley's visit, the door opened, waking Hermione up from her delayed slumber. The glint of long blonde-white hair was unmistakable, and Hermione's insides froze. Lucius Malfoy still looked as intimidating as he ever had. He smiled evilly as he looked on at Hermione.

Pulling up a chair, he sat down and crossed his legs.

"Ms. Granger."  
"L-Lucius Malfoy."

Lucius frowned at the use of his name and took his wand out and pointed it at her.

"I will only say this to you once. Do not use my first name, understand? It is improper and I won't have a Mudblood saying my name as if it was a useless piece of garbage."  
"But it is just a useless piece of garbage. Much like the owner of it."

Lucius's eyes flashed and a blue light flew out of the tip of his wand. The light hit the wall, causing a loud noise of cracking. But it did manage to hit Hermione's shoulder, which caused her to scream in agony. Smiling wickedly, he lowered his wand and walked up close to Hermione. Getting in close, he leaned in so their faces were almost touching each other.

"I believe we understand each other now, am I correct?"

Hermione nodded fervently and turned her head away. _'How am I going to get out of this one?'_

*****  
Draco bounded from where he was sitting and put his ear to the door. He heard a few more banging sounds, probably something hitting against the wall. Then, a small bit of talking. He recognized the voices. Both of them. He took a deep breath and slowly turned the knob of the door.

"Draco! What are you doing?!"  
"We need to go out there, Potter! We're not doing anybody any good by staying cooped up in here."  
"What are we going to do? Walk right out there and Avada Kadavra everyone we see?"  
"Why not? They're no use alive anyway."  
"No. Draco, you can't do that. I understand that you want Hermione safe. Trust me, I do too. But we're not going to make things easier for her if we cause this big commotion. We need to plan this out before we make a move."

Draco thought about Harry's words and let go of the knob. He hated to admit it, but Harry was right. Hermione was obviously being tortured enough; he didn't want to make things worse for her. They both sat in silence for a few more minutes before the door opened. Mr. Weasley looked shocked when he saw Harry and Draco, but smiled like he normally would anyway.

"Harry! Draco! How good to see you! Shouldn't you be at school?"  
"Mr. Weasley?"  
"Yes, Harry, that's me. Quite unchanged."

Mr. Weasley was acting as if nothing was wrong with the scene in front of him. Harry and Draco looked at one another, Harry with a look of confusion on his face and Draco with one of contempt.

"What are you doing here, Mr. Weasley?"  
"Oh, well, it's nothing too important. I just came here to…help out a friend. And now that I have, I was just on my way out."  
"What friend?"  
"Why are you asking so many questions, Harry?"  
"Why do you keep avoiding answering them, Mr. Weasley?"

Mr. Weasley couldn't answer. He looked like he was having trouble finding the words, but wasn't planning on speaking them either. Draco and Harry looked at each other as Mr. Weasley's face started to turn a light blue. A green light emitted from his head. As it flew towards the window, Harry and Draco walked backwards and out of its way. Watching it leave, they heard a loud thump. Looking over, they saw Mr. Weasley on the ground.


	9. Gone

_Advegdiropono._ Hermione knew the spell as soon as Mr. Weasley left. Lucius Malfoy could scare and torture her all he wanted, but she knew she needed to help Mr. Weasley somehow. _'How did Lucius find that spell anyway?'_ Hermione racked her brain trying to think about how he could've gotten his hands on it. It was near impossible to find! But before she could think on the matter any longer, the door opened and Hermione was roughly picked up and taken out into a large, round room. Her eyes darted around the room, looking for something that could help her escape, when she saw the one thing that made her breath catch in her throat.

*****  
"What in the name of Merlin's beard was that all about?"  
"I don't know; just help me get him onto the couch."

Harry and Draco slowly dragged Mr. Weasley to the couch and gently laid him on top of it. They were both stunned about what just happened and neither could find an explanation. Draco was concerned for a while, but his impatience was growing.

"Potter, I can't just stay in here any longer. For all we know, Hermione could be near death by now. I need to go out there."

Harry looked over at Draco and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Look. I know you want to go out there, but you really need to be patient right now. I think that we should just stay here and try to get Mr. Weasley to wake up. He might have the answers to what's going on."  
"Yes Draco. Wouldn't want to do anything drastic now would we?"

Spinning around, Draco was shocked to see Ron and Pansy both before him. With a confused look on his face, Harry walked over next to Draco and stared at Ron.

"Ron? What are you doing? I thought you were at home."  
"Yes, but I decided that I wasn't going to sit around and wait for Hermione to mess up her life by spending it with this bloody git." Ron said, motioning towards Draco.

Draco's fists clenched. "Don't make me kill you weaselby."  
Harry held Draco back and Ron laughed.  
"Come on, Draco. What does Hermione have that I don't?" Pansy asked desperately.  
"Brains and good looks, you ugly prat!"

Draco's anger was rising and he was somewhat thankful that Harry was holding him by the arm. Pansy was about to say something when they all heard a small groan come from the couch. Mr. Weasley put a hand to his head and looked around slowly. When he saw Ron he sat up quickly, making his head spin in pain.

"Oh. Ron. Where have you been? Your mother and I have been worried sick about you."  
"Sit down, father."  
"What? No, Ron, we need to get you home. Come on now."

Ron pulled out his wand and pointed it at his father. Everyone in the room stopped moving immediately. A look of hurt and shock was on Mr. Weasley's face.

"I have had enough of people telling me what to do."  
"Ron, c-calm down now son. Think about what you're doing."  
"STOP TELLING ME WHAT TO DO!"

With that, a blinding green light jetted from Ron's wand. They all heard a crash and then Ron screaming. Mr. Weasley had been thrown back into a mirror that was on the wall. He was lying underneath it, with no signs that he was alive at all. The spell had hit the mirror as well, and had hit Pansy and thrown her into the fireplace. Draco had tackled Ron to the ground and was sitting on top of him with his wand pointed at his throat. Harry walked over slowly and picked up Ron's wand and threw it into the fire with Pansy.

Harry pointed his own wand over at Mr. Weasley and quietly said a transferring spell.  
"_Abetio_ Burrow."  
Mr. Weasley disappeared and all was quiet except for Ron's screaming.

*****  
"It seems that you have company, Ms. Granger."

Hermione was staring into the hollow eyes of Voldemort. Behind him was a large stone. It was clear, and you could see the moving images of Draco and Harry in the other room, fighting with Ron. The sight shocked Hermione, as she watched Mr. Weasley get thrown from one end of the room to another, shattering glass everywhere. The images were hazy to her. She kept looking back from the stone to Voldemort, hatred roaring in her eyes.

"Why did you do that?!" she screamed.

Voldemort smiled and cocked his head.

"Mr. Weasley was the perfect occupant for Advegdiropono. His son was a little harder to perform on, but it turned out quite nicely."  
"So you made Ron act that way. You're the reason he's been violent."  
"I will say that's part of the reason, but no. The spell only has the person react the way they normally would to certain situations, except ten times worse."

Hermione looked down at the floor. Ron's actions were his own.

"You're disappointed?"  
"Ron…couldn't of…he wouldn't do…"  
"But he did and you are a foolish girl to believe otherwise. He's a very convincing actor if I do say so myself."  
"A-actor?"  
"Yes, along with Draco."

Hermione's eyes grew wide and Voldemort grinned.

"What? You didn't think that he actually cared about you? A Mudblood? I thought you were the smartest of the three? Apparently, the Trio has been misjudged. Blasted Weasley and his father are hollow minded, Potter is weak when it comes to his friends, and little Granger…isn't as smart as everyone believes. Are you?"

Hermione's only reply was in her screams as Voldemort pointed his wand at her.

*****  
Angry words were being exchanged between Harry and Ron. Draco had tied Ron to a chair, and he had been struggling to get out of his confines ever since. Watching them bicker wasn't as amusing as he thought it would be, so Draco had turned his attention somewhere else. He gazed at the bookshelves and across to the walls and finally to the shattered glass where Mr. Weasley once was. A shimmering, green light caught his eye and he walked over to it. He could see distant moving objects on the surface. His eyes grew wide as the green light diminished and Hermione's horror, pain stricken face appeared clear on the glass.

He darted his eyes back and forth from Harry and Ron to the glass. Deciding that he couldn't wait for Harry any longer, he grabbed his wand and ran out the door, with Harry calling after him.

*****  
Draco knew which way to go. He took numerous lefts and rights down long corridors, almost running into the trick walls that moved when you got too close. After ten minutes of running he could hear the droning sound of Voldemort, talking and talking.  
_'Blast, he likes to hear himself talk, doesn't he?'_ Draco thought to himself.  
He rested himself against a wall and caught his breath. Sweat was running down his face. He felt a warm substance trickling down his hand. He looked down and noticed that he had been clutching the glass all this time, and blood was now running freely down his hand.

This was it. And he knew it. He needed to confront his father in front of the Dark Lord. Save Hermione…in front of the Dark Lord. And proclaim his love for her and that he would never leave her…in front of the Dark Lord.  
_'How the hell am I going to do this?'_

Before he could think any longer, a hand rested on his shoulder. He immediately pointed his wand at the stranger.  
"Don't you dare move or I'll blast your bloody head off."  
"Draco, relax. It's me, Harry."

Lowering his wand, Draco looked behind Harry and saw that Ron was unconscious.  
"Did you do what I think you did?"  
"Had to shut him up somehow. Wouldn't stop talking."

Draco smirked and turned toward a loud and ear piercing sound. Voldemort was doing something, making a move towards Hermione, and she was panicking.

"What do we do now?"  
"Are you serious, Potter? You're asking me what we do next when you've confronted this guy more times than an angry customer?"  
"Well, I've never exactly had tea with the bloke, Malfoy."

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. He stood up and slowly looked around the corner. Ringing his hands around his wand, he looked down at Harry and smirked.  
"When the time is right, untie her and get out of here."  
Harry looked at Draco questioningly. He suddenly shook his head and tried to make a grab for him as he left, but it was too late. Draco was making his way out into the center of the room. Every eye was on him as he stood in the light, his plan already under way.

*****


	10. Love

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes as Draco was walking into the room, like nothing was wrong. His eyes were locked with Voldemort's. He only glanced at her once, a small tiny look that held nothing but fear and love. Hermione started struggling with her captives, knowing that what Draco was going to do wasn't going to be good.

"Enough, Mudblood!"

The clear, pounding voice made Hermione wince and she looked down at the floor. Tears were flooding from her eyes, she looked up at Draco and saw that Voldemort was walking around him, as if he was deciding to pounce or not.

"Draco Malfoy. How nice of you to join us. To what do we owe this lovely visit?"  
"I…I have come here on orders from my father." The words came out hesitantly.

Voldemort snapped his head in Lucius's direction and stared.  
"Really now? And why would your father call you here without my permission?"  
"I am here because my father would…like your permission to perform the ceremony of…the Dark Mark."  
Draco hung his head and didn't dare look at Hermione or anyone else. Shame had filled his body and he knew that there was no going back now. Silence had filled the air and nothing could be heard except for Voldemorts slow breathing.

"Lucius!"  
Lucius Malfoy ran up to the center of the room, and bowed in front of Voldemort.  
"Yes, my Lord?"  
"Is this true?"  
"Yes, my Lord. It is true."

Cocking his head to the side, Voldemort grinned and laughed. He looked around the room and suddenly stopped.  
"What are you idiots doing?! You know what to do! Now! We have a ceremony to prepare!"

*****  
Everyone bustled and took off in different directions. Harry, who had been watching from the side, ran quickly for Hermione, who had been tossed to the side. When he reached her, she was shaky and unwilling to move.  
"Hermione, come on, we have to get out of sight. Now."  
"No. Draco!"  
"He'll be fine, Hermione! He knows what he's doing!"

He grabbed her arm and pulled her along the wall. He reached an arm around her waist and pulled her along back to the shadows where he was before. Resting her against the wall, he looked around cautiously.  
"Where's Ron?"  
"Ron? You let him out of your sight?!"  
"Well, he was unconscious and in ropes, I didn't think that he would actually wake up and untie himself!"

"He's under Advegdiropono, there's no telling what he could do."  
"He's under what?"  
"Advegdiropono. It's a spell that's been hidden for years. It makes the person succumb to the casters every will. It makes them act unlike themselves, except their actions towards people close to them."

"That would explain why Ron's been violent. It's not his fault!"  
"Technically, but if he's been violent towards us, then the actions were his own, Harry. He would've been really angry with us and would only think about hurting us, this spell made him actually do it."

Looking down, Harry sighed and looked towards Draco. He saw tears in his eyes. Knowing what was going to come, he knew he needed to get Hermione out of there. Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her up.

"Harry, what are you doing?"  
"I need to get you out of here."  
Hermione yanked her arm back and stared at him disbelievingly.

"I'm not going anywhere until Draco is safe." She crossed her arms and sat back down. Harry looked back at Draco and fear had consumed him for the first time.

*****  
Draco's heart was racing. He looked around to where Hermione was before and sighed a breath of relief when he saw she was no longer there.  
_'Potter did something right.'_ His thoughts were thrown to the side though, when his father walked up in front of him. He glared at him.

"What are you doing here?" Lucius whispered.  
"What do you mean father? I'm here, just like you wanted me to be."  
"You had no intention of coming here tonight for the Mark. You came here for that Mudblood, didn't you?"

Draco took his gaze off of his father and took a sharp intake of breath.  
"I came here for you, father. Just be glad I didn't come blabbering all your plans away to overthrow Volde-."  
Lucius covered Draco's mouth with his hand and looked warily around. When he removed his hand, Draco was smirking.

"Be that as it may…" Lucius started. "You now have put me and yourself into a position that we cannot get out of. You either take the Mark or you will be killed."  
Lucius wrapped a piece of cloth around Draco's arm twice and knotted it tightly, making Draco wince. His skin around the cloth turned a reddish purple as the blood was stopped from flowing freely through his arm.  
"And personally," Lucius continued. "I don't want to live with the fact that my miserable son was killed because he was not man enough to take it."

Glaring at his father, Draco couldn't help but despise the Malfoy pride running through his veins at that very moment. He smirked quickly and nodded.  
"Anything for the family." He spat.

Staring at him with hollow eyes, he slowly walked away from him. Looking around, Draco could see Death Eaters, hundreds of them, starting to gather around him in a circle. They were all carrying flaming torches and had their hoods up over their heads. Fear flowed through Draco quickly, but he kept a straight face and showed no emotion. Suddenly, he heard a scream and he was knocked over onto the floor. His entire body was being pushed onto the hard ground and his ribs felt as if they were on fire. His eyesight became hazy as he looked around quickly. He couldn't hear anything at all. He saw Voldemort screaming, his father looking up at Voldemort talking back and forth with him quickly, and all the Death Eaters were murmuring to each other, not sure of what to do. Breathing was becoming an issue, and he couldn't do much as the fists forced themselves down onto his face.

*****  
"Hermione, listen to me."  
Harry knelt down and was at eye level with Hermione. He grasped her hands and stared at her.  
"There's nothing that you can say that will make me leave."  
"Look, I promised Malfoy that I would get you out of here alive. He's practically risking his life out there for both of us. I'm not saying that he's going to die, but if something like that happens, I'm going to make sure that his last wish for you to be safe goes through without a problem."

Before Hermione could speak, Harry was knocked on the head. Hermione looked on in terror as Harry fell, unconscious, to the floor. Ron towered over her, and had a menacing, determined look in his eyes.  
"Don't worry, Hermione. Draco won't get out alive."  
"NO!" Hermione screamed after him as he dodged out from behind the wall and jumped at Draco.

Looking around the wall, she saw Ron tackle Draco to the ground. Hermione rushed over to Harry and started shaking him gently.  
"Wake up, Harry. Please, please wake up!"

*****  
The hits were coming harder on Draco's face. He could feel the small sting of blood on his face and the coil in his stomach. He finally found the strength to fight back. He moved his hands upward and thrust the bottom end of his hand into the attacker's nose. He felt the weight lift off of his body and he took a deep breath. The air rushed into his lungs and relieved the tension he was feeling in his ribs. He sat up as soon as he knew he wouldn't pass out and looked toward the attacker. _'Are you bloody serious?'_ This was the only thing that he could think of as he saw Ron laying on the ground gripping at his nose. He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand and stood himself up, still looking down at Ron.

"Bring him to me!" Voldemort cried.  
Just as soon as he spoke, four Death Eaters rounded up Ron and brought him in front of Voldemort. Ron had been kicking and screaming until he saw Voldemorts face. He jerked his arms out of their confines and threw himself on the ground.

"Master…I have done as you have told me."  
"I did not tell you to do anything to Malfoy other than make him weak. And from the look of it, you have made him stronger!"  
"No, master! He is weak! He is!"  
"If he is weak then how can he be standing?!"

Ron looked back at Draco, who was standing in the middle of the room, looking curiously at what was going on before him.

"You have disappointed me."  
"NO! Master! He is weak! I may not have made him physically weak, but he is emotionally weak! Bring Hermione ou-." Voldemort swiftly smacked Ron across the face, leaving a blood red mark on his cheek.  
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK A MUDBLOOD'S NAME! To think that a Mudblood is a person and nothing other but a thing? Some useless object? They have no need for names!"  
"Yes Master. I apologize Master. But just bring the Mudblood out to him, Master! And see how weak and how quickly he bends to her will!"

Voldemort looked over at Draco. Gazing past him, he saw Hermione, who had snuck out around the wall. He smiled evilly and raised his hand in her direction.

"Bring the Mudblood here!"

Hermione's screams filled the room as Death Eaters brought her forward. They thrust her onto the ground and she landed with a rough thud. Draco winced and turned his attention onto a spot on the floor. Hermione pushed herself up slowly and looked up at Draco.

"Draco. Draco, please. Look at me."

Draco slowly looked at her, with pain filled eyes.

"Don't let them do this Draco. There's so much more to you then just this. There's…so much more to us. Help me Draco, please. Don't do this." She reached up her hand towards Draco, wanting him to take hold of it and pull her up into his warm, safe arms. But instead, he looked away.

"I could never help a M-mudblood."

Voldemort laughed as Draco looked at the floor and tears flooded Hermione's eyes. He looked down at Ron and snickered.

"Does that sound like someone who is under the spell of a Mudblood? You have failed me."  
"No Master! He lies! If you would just listen to me!"  
"ENOUGH! I will not have some foolish Weasley tell me what to do!" With that, he pointed his wand at Ron and practically screamed out the killing curse.

"NO!"

Voldemort looked up in surprise and looked at Draco curiously.  
"No, Draco? Why would you say something like that? About someone who obviously tried to get you killed and someone who clearly wasn't of any importance."  
"Y-you didn't need to kill him…"  
"And why is that Draco? Please, enlighten me."

No words came to Draco. He couldn't think of any reason as to why Ron shouldn't have been killed besides the fact that he was under an ancient spell. He frowned and shook his head. He noticed Hermione was still lying on the ground next to him. He quickly bowed his head.

"I'm sorry for the outburst, my Lord. It won't happen again."

Voldemort looked at him curiously then turned away.  
"Indeed it won't. Clean this up!"

Draco stood back up and looked toward the wall. _'Where is Potter?'_


	11. Bitter

Darkness. As Harry's eyes fluttered open that's all he could see. Slowly though, the color came back, though it wasn't much of an improvement. His hearing came quickly and sure enough he could hear hundreds of feet walking and running back and forth. He clutched his head and pushed himself so he was in a sitting position. He silently cursed as the pain rushed to his head. Rubbing his eyes he tried to get a clear focus of what was going on.

"Hermione?" he asked when he noticed she wasn't there.  
He began to panic. Where was she? She was with him not too long ago, right? He got up on his feet and frantically started looking around for her. His eyes stopped on Draco, and slowly made their way down to floor to see a sobbing Hermione.

_'How the bloody hell did she get out there?!' _Harry reached around the floor and felt for his wand. When he found it, he grabbed it tightly and edged his way to the corner of the wall. He was about to make for Hermione when two Death Eaters came and grabbed her from the ground. She didn't even put up a fight as they dragged her and threw her against the back wall. Harry looked to Draco and saw nothing in his eyes. He was still staring at the floor. Taking a breath, Harry ran over to Hermione and knelt by her.

"Hermione? You okay? Talk to me, Hermione."  
"Liar." Hermione replied in a raspy voice.  
"What?"  
"He lied to me. He lied to me, Harry. He said he would never…let anything happen to me. Never let me down. And yet there he is…out there. With his father…" Hermione practically spat out the words. Harry pulled her up and tried to get her to stand.

When he got her to the wall, she stopped him and looked over to Draco. Fear was clouding his eyes as the Death Eater's reformed their circle around him. Voldemort was standing to the side as Lucius came forward in front of Draco with a silver wand. With force, Lucius grabbed Draco's arm and yanked him forward. Draco looked up at his father with hatred and slowly turned his forearm upward. Lucius stared at Draco intently and rested the tip of the wand on his son's arm. Draco looked up to the wall and rested his eyes on Hermione. Without meaning too, a tear ran down his face. He blinked it away and looked to Harry and nodded gently. Harry nodded back and slowly began pulling Hermione away.

"No."  
"Hermione, we need to do now. Draco doesn't want you here to see this. You'd be better off not seeing this at all."  
"I'm not leaving!"  
"Hermione!"  
"No!"  
"We ne-."

The sound of Draco's screams cut Harry off. Lucius had quickly said the enchantment and the silver wand was now two inches deep inside of Draco's arm, moving up and down, leaving deep black lines as it went. Draco closed his eyes and tried to focus on something else. But there was nothing that could divert his attention from the intense pain. He heard bickering near the wall and knew that Hermione was putting up a fight with Harry. Why wouldn't she leave? The feeling of guilt and sadness grew inside of Draco and he knew that he would never be the same again. Even if he did make it out of this alive, things couldn't be the way they were with Hermione before. There was just no way. Draco's screams finally subsided when the wand was roughly pulled out of his skin.

"You are now a Death Eater." Lucius said darkly.

Draco looked down at his arm and the sight almost made him want to vomit. There, as clear as day, was the dark, festering Dark Mark. The mark of a traitor to the entire wizarding world. The mark of a destined Malfoy.

"And now father…it's time for you to leave me and mother alone. For good."  
Lucius stifled a laugh and folded his arms across his chest. He looked around at some of his fellow Death Eater's and chuckled.

"And why would you expect me to do that?"  
"Because anyone who plans on overthrowing the Dark Lord shouldn't be allowed to live."

Silence filled the air as Lucius's face turned white. Voldemort stood up slowly and walked to the center of the room next to Draco.

"Really now, Lucius. I expected better from you."  
"It's a lie, Master!"  
"Calling your son a liar, Malfoy. Tsk, tsk, honestly. What kind of parenting is that?"  
"He is no son of mine."

Draco smirked. "I am the son of the Dark Lord. All Death Eater's are. Shouldn't one of the Lord's loyal followers know that?"

Lucius's face drained as he looked from Draco to Voldemort.

"He lies!"  
"I CAN SEE IT IN YOUR MIND, LUCIUS!" Voldemort pointed his wand and no more words were spoken. Lucius Malfoy lay on the ground, unmoving, and lifeless.

*****  
Hermione's tears were spilling down her face.  
"Why is he doing this? Why did he have his father killed? That's not like him!"  
She turned around and buried her head on Harry's shoulder. Harry's eyes were locked on Draco, with a look of shock and disbelief. He raised his wand in the air and made a circle around him and Hermione.

"_Abetio_ Hogsmeade."

When they arrived, Hermione immediately went to a bench and sat down, sobbing. Harry didn't know what to do. There was nothing he could do to make her feel better. He sat down next to her anyway and rubbed her back, trying to give her comfort. She sat up and looked straight ahead, with fear and confusion in her eyes.

"Hermione?"  
"What Harry?" she whispered.  
"S-something else is wrong…isn't it? There's something else. Something that you're not telling me."

Hermione cocked a tiny, heartbroken smile and turned away from Harry.

"You know just about everything about me, don't you Harry?"  
"What's the matter? Are you okay?"  
"Harry, I can't tell you right now. But I need to…to talk to Draco. He's the only one I want right now."

Harry sighed and stood up.

"Come on. Let's go back to the castle."

*****  
A single tear fell down his cheek as Draco looked on at his father's lifeless form. So many people had died in a matter of an hour, and it was because of him. He took a deep breath and threw a look over at the corner where Harry and Hermione were once before. Nothing. He was suddenly relieved and started breathing normally again. This was short lived as Voldemort began walking about Draco in a small circle.

"You have proved yourself well, Draco."  
"T-thank you, my Lord." Draco stuttered.

Voldemort looked closely at Draco and smirked slightly.  
"Get out of my sight. I'll call upon you when I need you."

Draco bowed and quickly backed out of the room. When he made it safely into a quiet room, he whipped his wand out of his robes and magically transported himself to Hogesmeade. He looked around when he got there and leaned up against a tree. He slid down the trunk and landed on the ground with a thud. He looked down at his arm and just stared. Finally, nothing could be heard except Draco's soft crying.

*****  
Hermione shuddered in the cold room. She never knew Draco's room could get this chilly. She guessed she never noticed it because Draco was always with her when she stayed in his room. But for the past few days, she was alone. Wrapping the dark green blanket tighter around her, she rested her head on the beds few pillows and tried to remember back to only a few weeks ago. When Draco was with her and everything was perfect. Her thoughts were cut short when the window opened quickly and a dark figure walked through, dusting off it's clothes. She sat up quickly and pointed her wand.

"Hermione?"

She lowered her wand and stared hopefully.

"Draco?"  
"What are you doing in here?"

Hermione threw her wand, jumped off the bed and grabbed Draco in her arms. Draco chuckled quietly and wrapped his arms around her.

"Where have you been? I've been so worried about you!"  
"I've been with my mother. Making sure she's alright. I'm sorry I didn't call or make some kind of contact with you."  
"I just…really needed to tell you something."

Draco sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand in his.

"I need to tell you something too."

Hermione smiled. "You go first."  
Draco sighed and took a deep breath.

"I…I can't see you anymore, Hermione."  
Hermione's smile was wiped away.  
"What?"

Draco sighed. "Hermione, don't make me say it again…"  
"Why Draco? I don't understand."

Tears were forming in her eyes and Draco looked away.  
"Why didn't you help me out there? You just left me there! I could've been killed!"

"Hermione, don't. I didn't do it because I hate you. Don't you understand, I needed to do that! If I showed you any affection at all, you would've been killed right there on the spot."  
"Why are you leaving me? Don't end this, Draco."  
"I'm no good for you, Hermione."  
"Draco…"

Draco lifted up his arm and shoved it in Hermione's face.

"LOOK AT THIS! I CAN'T BE WITH YOU WHEN I HAVE THIS!"

Hermione's tears were falling swiftly. She went to touch his arm when he pulled it away and turned his back on her.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. But I just can't put you in this kind of danger."

He began walking toward the window and climbed up on the ledge. He listened to Hermione's tear-stained words and wiped his own tears away.

"Don't Draco. Don't leave me, please. I love you so much…"

Draco looked down and snapped his fingers. His broom came flying up. He swung his leg over and looked back at Hermione one last time.

"I love you too, Hermione." He whispered. With that, he flew off, wiping his tears continuously as he went.

*****


	12. Changes

Draco milled through his thoughts as he sat under a big oak tree. Tears were still falling freely down his face. He shook his head and tried to wipe them away, but felt defeated when more came back down. He was holding a picture that had been taken months before. It was of Hermione running from the camera, not wanting to be caught by the film. She was smiling, laughing, throwing things at Draco. He smiled at the memory and brushed more tears away. Suddenly the silence was broken as Draco let out a short scream of pain. He looked down at his arm in anguish and cursed. He put the picture back into his robes and jumped on his broom.?

Hermione flipped through her book furiously. She knew it had to be somewhere in there. "Harry!"  
She threw the book at the door and looked under her bed.

"Oi!" Harry ducked and the book grazed his hair. "Trying to kill me?"  
"Where is it?!"  
"Where is what?"  
"The picture of Draco!"  
Harry frowned and ruffled his hair. He walked over and picked Hermione off of the floor.  
"Harry, I need to find that picture!"  
"Hermione! It's no good torturing yourself. It's been three months. You need to stop this."  
"I'm not torturing myself."  
"You haven't been yourself since he left that night. And I kinda miss you bugging me to do my homework. Now I actually have to do it on my own nagging. Do you know how hard that is?"

Hermione smiled slightly and sat down next to him.

"I just don't know what to do, Harry. The pain won't go away. I still love him so much, and I know he didn't leave because he wanted too."  
"But you can't keep holding on to someone if you don't know if and when they're ever coming back. He hasn't written to you or anything, Hermione."  
"I never got to tell him…"  
"Tell him what?"  
Hermione sighed and frowned. "I'm pregnant."

"But my Lord, how can I go back there?"  
"I'm sure you will find a way. You're not an idiot, Draco. You know as well as I what will happen if you don't get me what I want."  
"I understand, my Lord, but – "  
"NO! No questions, no doubts! I don't care what you have to do, just get it done!"  
Draco bowed quickly and backed out of the room. He shut the door quickly and made his way outside. Frustrated, he kicked his broom and screamed out in anger. He didn't want to go back. He couldn't face all those people. The ones he loved, the ones he hated, the ones he just couldn't keep composed around. He looked down at his broom and sighed. He picked it up and mounted it.  
"Time to go back to bloody school."

Harry stared in disbelief.  
"Uh...you're, um…what?"  
"…pregnant."  
"Are you…sure?"  
"I've taken the test enough times to know."

Harry let out a breath and rubbed the back of his neck.  
"How, uh…how far along are you?"  
"…almost three months."  
Harry sighed and fidgeted where he sat.  
"It's okay. I'll help you with whatever you need, Hermione."  
"You're too nice to me, Harry. You really don't need too."

Harry looked down at her and pulled her chin up and quickly kissed her lightly. They both pulled away as quickly as the kiss began. Hermione blushed and Harry distanced himself by getting up and walking to the door.

"I'll…uh, save you a seat at the table."  
"Harry?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Stay."  
Harry turned around and looked at her curiously. "What?"  
"Don't leave."  
"Don't you want to get uh…going to class and…and stuff?"

Hermione had gotten closer to Harry. She smiled and wrapped him up into a hug. He struggled with his thoughts but hugged her back, tightening his grip around her waist.  
"I just want to be with you right now."  
Harry smiled and rested his head on top of hers.

The Great Hall was louder than usual that morning. It had been a few weeks since Harry and Hermione's kiss. They had walked in holding hands, and they quickly sat down before too much was brought up about it. No one seemed to notice. Harry filled a plate and placed it in front of Hermione. She looked at it wide-eyed and looked to Harry.

"You don't expect me to eat all that?"  
"Yes, I do." He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "You're eating for two now, remember?"  
"I'm not a disposal, Harry, I have limits."  
"Eat as much as you can. Please?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and picked up her fork. When breakfast was over, they made their way to Potions class. Commotion was still wandering around the school. Hermione wasn't too concerned with what people were talking about, but Harry was naturally curious.  
"Hey, I'll be right back."  
"Okay, Harry."  
Harry smiled and walked over to Neville and Seamus, who were talking with a few other people.

"Hey guys."  
"Hey Harry."  
"Heard the news?"  
"What news?"  
"Malfoy's back."  
"WHAT?!"  
"Came back early this morning." Neville said.  
"Thought you and Hermione would already know. Considering they were so close a few months back." Seamus said.

Harry looked over to Hermione with a worried look on his face. Walking back, he sat down and began flipping through random pages of his Potions book. Hermione watched him, curiosity welling over her face.  
"Um, Harry?"  
"Yeah?"  
"What are you doing?"  
"Reading."  
"Why are you reading?"  
"I need to learn this potion."

Harry stopped when he realized what he just said. He put his head in his hands and breathed slowly.  
"Okay, I'm going to tell you. But you have to promise me not to completely freak out."  
"Harry, you're being silly. Just tell me."  
"Well, okay. Um, Draco is…here."

Hermione's face went pale. There wasn't really any emotion as far as Harry could tell, but when Hermione looked back down at her book, he grew concerned.  
"Hermione?"  
"Yes Harry?"  
"You okay?"  
"I'm fine. Let's just finish this potion so we can go back to the dorm."  
"Hermione?"  
"Harry. Just drop it."  
Harry sighed and looked over to the group of people now forming around Draco. _'She'll come around. Eventually.'_ Harry sighed at the thought and went back to making the potion.

Normally, Draco would love the attention. But his attention was on the two people sitting on the other side of the room. He knew it was Hermione and he knew for a fact that she was avoiding him because of her pride. As class soon began, he found he couldn't focus and cursed his stubborness.  
"Malfoy. Why don't you tell the class what a proper Wolfsbane does?"  
"Why don't you bugger off?"

The entire class went deadly silent as Professor Snape and Draco stared at each other. Hermione shifted in her seat. For the first time she had looked at Draco, and it broke her heart to see the state he was in. He looked a down-right mess. His eyes had dark rings underneath them, his hair didn't have that normal Malfoy sheen, and he had lost a considerable amount of weight. She looked down with her hands on her stomach in thought. It was his and she did need to tell him at some point. She buried her head in her hands as she thought about the situation with Harry.?

"I don't believe I heard you correctly, Mr. Malfoy. Would you mind repeating?"  
"Clean the junk out of your ears and BUGGER OFF!"  
"Oh for Merlin's sake! Wolfbane is a potion that will allow a werewolf to retain his intelligence when he transforms, thus rendering him less dangerous." Hermione screamed.  
"Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger, you will both be serving detention tonight at seven for your outburts. Turn to page 276."

******  
"I can't believe he gave me detention for giving the right answer! Why is he such a twit?!"  
"Calm down, Hermione." Harry said placing his hand on her stomach. "Don't stress. You're not the only one that's going to hurt because of it."

Hermione sighed. "You're right. I'm just going to go lay down. See you at dinner?"  
"I'll be there."  
Draco watched as Hermione walked in the opposite direction, with Harry looking after her. He scowled and walked up to Harry and tapped him on the shoulder.  
"You two have gotten pretty close since I've been gone, haven't you?"

Harry whirled around and faced Draco with exasperation on his face.  
"Draco. How ah...how have you been?"  
"Cut the small talk, Potter. Why won't Hermione even look at me?"  
"You're serious?"  
"I'm not talking to you for giggles, Potter."  
"Look, Hermione doesn't want to talk to you or..look at you because you left her with nothing. And for what? The Dark Lord and his goonies. How do you think that made her feel?"

Draco sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.  
"I didn't want to hurt her."  
"Well you did. It's going to be hard for her to talk to you with her...current situation. She doesn't need the stress. So leave her alone."  
Draco stared at Harry and smirked.

"I figured as much."  
"What?"  
"I'm not stupid, Potter. Hermione's pregnant. She must of loved me so much to turn around and conceive with you."

Harry stared in disbelief and tried to catch Draco as he walked away.  
"Draco, wait! It's not what you think!"  
Draco spun around and punched Harry in the jaw. Harry flew to the floor in a jumbled heap. He looked up as Draco stood over him with fury in his eyes.  
"Don't tell me what I'm thinking, Potter. I should've known better than to trust a Mudblood with something as precious as my heart. Keep that filthy thing away from me. Especially you. Or I'll hit you so hard it'll wake up your dentist."  
With that, Draco walked away and around the corner, leaving Harry on the floor confused and flustered.

*****  
"HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?!"  
"Draco..."  
"I MEAN WHY DID I LET MYSELF FALL FOR THAT MUDBLOOD?!"  
"Hey! Enough! I don't know why you're freaking out so much about this without talking to her first, but you would NEVER call her that! Ever."

Draco stared at Blaise. His seething anger disappeared with the thoughts of Hermione and he sat down on the bed. He buried his head in his hands and groaned.  
"What am I going to do?"  
"Don't worry. We'll fix all this."  
"Are you kidding? I called Hermione a Mudblood in front of Potter. There's no doubt in my mind at all, that he told her already. Any chances that I had with her at all are gone."  
"No, they're not. Just relax. We'll fix this."  
Draco sighed and rubbed his head.?_'I want to fix things with her. I don't know what I'll do without her...but I need to concentrate on this mission or I'll never see her again.'_

*****  
"He...what?"  
"I'm sorry, Hermione. He called you a Mudblood and said he never should of trusted you with his heart."  
"But...I just don't understand. Why would he say all those mean things?"

Hermione wiped away the falling tears as Harry paced the room.  
_'Should I tell her that he thought its my baby? This could help me stay with her...'_

Classes passed slowly throughout the day. Hermione found that she could not concentrate on anything. All she could think about was Draco, and how he had changed so much. She wandered behind the others as classes filed out of classrooms, flooding into the halls. Holding her books she slowly made her way behind them, only to be pushed into a wall by a Slytherin, making her books fall onto the floor.

"Ow!"  
"Watch where you're going, Mudblood."  
Hermione looked up as the Slytherin snickered at her fallen form.  
"Hey, look everyone! Looks like little Hermione has fallen and can't get up. What should we do to help her?" he said smuggly.  
A group of Slytherins had formed around her, crossing their arms and some pulling out their wands.

"Hey! Leave her alone."  
The group looked up to the voice. Some backed away and started making their way back down the hallway. Others just stood in amazement. Draco walked casually over to the group, his hair shiney and his skin back to the normal colors. He looked healthy...and angry. He walked over to the second year boy that had started the commotion and grabbed him by the collar.

"I believe you own her an apology."  
"And why should I do that? She's just a no good, dirty Mudblo-"  
Draco slapped the boy across the face and pressed him against the wall.  
"I said, APOLOGIZE."

The boy looked down at Hermione and then looked back at Draco. He panicked and quickly said an apology.  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry!"  
Draco threw the boy down and wiped his hands on his robes.  
"Good. Now get gone."  
The boy got up and ran down the hall and around the corner.

Draco bent down and started picking up books and loose papers that had scattered on the ground.  
"You should be more careful. What with your condition."  
"How do you know about that?"  
"I'm not stupid, Granger. I know when a girl is pregnant."  
"Then..then why did you call me a Mudblood? And that you couldn't trust me?"  
"I would have thought that that part would have been obvious. You cheated on me with..Potter."

Draco scrunched his face and turned away. Tears were forming in his eyes. He turned back when Hermione had begun giggling.  
"Why is this funny to you?"  
"You-you think that this is Harrys' child?"  
"Well.."  
Hermione burst out laughing and gently took Draco's hand in hers.  
"Draco. This is your child."  
Draco's eyes grew wide and he stared at her in disbelief.

"My...child?"  
"Yes. Why would you think that it was Harrys?"  
"Well, he never said anything otherwise. Oh, Hermione. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it when I called you a Mudblood. I just got so angry an-"  
Hermione cut Draco off with a kiss. Draco sighed and fell into Hermione. His thoughts about the mission were blown out of his mind and all he concentrated on was Hermione. Hermione, though, couldn't help but think about Harry.

_'Why would he not tell me the whole story?'_

After the reunion with Draco in the hall, Hermione made it up to the Gryffindor tower in one piece. People backed out of her way when she walked through the picture, anger growing on her face every second. She slammed the boys' dorm door open. The boys inside jumped at the sudden noise and all looked curiously to see the glowing red orb of building temper that was Hermione.  
"HARRY!"  
_'I guess this is the hormone part that we've been waiting for.'_ He thought. But when he got to her, she slapped him across the face.  
"Ow! What was that for?!"  
"For lying to Draco! And for lying to me!" With that she turned around and walked into the girls' dorm.

Harry stared after her bewildered, rubbing his cheek.

*****  
Draco walked down the halls with his head held high. Things were going back to the way they were supposed to be. He had his girl back and he was getting his feared respect back. When he reached his room, he couldn't help but feel a sudden chill. He looked to the windows and then to the rafters. But when he saw that they were closed he just shrugged and reached into his trunk for a jacket. As he was putting this on, he suddenly screamed in pain. He grabbed his arm and twisted into a ball. The pain was more than he could stand. When it finally stopped he glanced down. His arm was glaring a light pink and it was throbbing from the invisible abuse. He quickly grabbed his wand and apparated himself to the basement of his house.

"Why have you not completed your task, Draco?"  
The chilling voice could have pulled out Draco's heart if he wasn't already aware of Voldemort's dark presence. He turned around and quickly bowed, trying hard to look into the face of what he believed would soon be the death of him.

"I apologize my Lord. McGonagall's office seems to be a little more well-protected then I imagined. I promise to be quicker."  
"You had better. Or next time, you won't be forgiven so easily."

When Draco looked up he saw that he was in the Professors office. He looked around startled, and then became angry. _'I told him that I would bloody do it! Why did he have to do this for me? He would never do that to the other Death Eaters..' _As Draco pondered this, the door to the office opened. He got up quickly and ran over to a corner of the wall that had a crook. He squeezed himself into the crook and tried to breath slowly.

"But Professor McGonagall, please! He's not one that can't be trusted. I trust him with my life!"  
"I'm sorry, Ms. Granger, but I cannot allow you to throw yourself onto Mr. Malfoy while you are in this condition."  
"But _he_ got me in this condition! I want him to be there!"  
"Ms. Granger! I understand that you want him to be there, but when the time comes, and he is not around, you cannot say I didn't tell you so."

Draco heard the door slam. He cautiously looked around the corner to see the professor walking into the fireplace and flooing away. He pushed himself out of the corner and ran a hand through his hair. Confused, he looked around when something caught his eye. A small, slender, golden wand with emeralds and diamonds encrusted in the handle was spinning slowly on an invisible pedestle. Walking over he waved his hand above and below the wand, before quickly grabbing it and sliding it into his robes.

*****  
A few days went by and Hermione was cheerful. Draco had been very interested in the baby. Thinking of names and telling her what life would be like now that they were linked in this special way. But there was something in his voice that was shakey and un-nerving, but she brushed it away. When she put her things down on the bed she noticed a very neatly folded letter. Opening it, tears formed in her eyes.

_My Dearest Hermione,_

I'm sorry that I have to do this to you. It kills me inside that I cannot be the stable man that you need in your life right now. The past few days have been wonderful and I will never forget any of them. But I'm afraid that I have no choice but to leave. I can't explain why, but you have to trust me. I know that may be hard for you, especially with the baby on the way, but just know that I will always love you. Please remember, Hermione. These things that drag us apart from each other cannot stop our love...just delay it for a little while. I promise that I will write every moment that I can. You will always be on my mind.

Love, Draco

**Author's Note: This is the end! Thanks for reading all the way through! I pulled this up from my old high school days, so hopefully it doesn't need too much editing. Please let me know if it does!  
**


End file.
